''■:vM: 


UC-NRLF 


^C    15    TSD 


S  V 


I'.vf 


i'Vii 


.(,■,..  ,1','  ■' :-;'.' 


'■■,■,  i_!.'^' 


•.|^^< 


f^;.' 


illiiiiilM^ 

iHvi  '■;'/''-'"' {■ni;,   ■■'.■'■V-  -,  <'^'    ■  ■  '  .'■  •'  ^  -..f  ■,"■',  ,  '■ 


# 


:*■ 


_#         ^' 


>W' 


GIFT  Of 

Harry  ■'^.    Stevens 


-g-^ 


■-^^v 


i!*V 


2S 


-^ 


.^ 


/-.    >i5f!.. 


.~Jj 


-<::>. 


'M 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/earlychinesewritOOchalrich 


MEMOIES 


j,o     >         •    >'    •      »  >«*    «  •  «  -a    > v* 

^'■i»,i»    1         'i'    1    '■.:>     'ail': 


OF  THE 


OARNEaiE  MUSEUM. 

VOL.  IV. NO.  1. 


EARLY   CHINESE  WRITING. 

By  Rev.  Frank  H.  Chalfant. 

I.  Illustrations  of  Early  Writing  Derived  from  Ancient  Inscriptions. 
II.  Notes  upon  the  "  Shuo  Wen." 

III.  The  Royal  Edict  Confirming  the  Domain  of  San. 

IV.  Ancient  Inscriptions  upon  Bone  and  Tortoise  Shell. 

Prefatory  Note. 
The  Rev.  Frank  H.  Chalfant,  who  for  nineteen  years  has  been  a  missionary  in 
the  Province  of  Shantung,  China,  has  devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of  Chinese 
archaeology,  and  more  particularly  to  the  ancient  Chinese  writings  which  tend  to 
throw  light  upon  the  origin  of  the  present  written  and  printed  symbols.  Upon  the 
occasion  of  a  recent  visit  to  the  United  States  the  writer  induced  Mr.  Chalfant 
to  put  into  shape  for  publication  the  following  memoir  upon  which  he  had  for 
several  years  been  laboring  at  moments  of  leisure.  It  embodies  a  large  amount  of 
interesting  and  curious  information  collated  from  Chinese  sources,  which,  though  in 
part  known  to  students  of  the  Chinese  language,  has  not  been  put  into  a  form  easily 
accessible  to  philologists.  Mr.  Chalfant  in  his  memoir  has  not  confined  himself  to 
material  known  hitherto,  but  has  embodied  in  his  paper  the  results  of  original 
observations  made  by  him  upon  archajological  material  acquired  by  himself  and 
others  from  the  Province  of  Honan,  consisting  of  inscriptions  of  great  antiquity 
upon  bone  and  tortoise-shell.  This  material  when  further  examined  promises  to 
yield  valuable  results.  For  the  first  time,  so  far  as  is  known  to  the  writer,  a  tenta- 
tive translation  of  the  edict  designated  by  Mr.  Chalfant  as  " The  San  Edict"  is 
given.  This  is  a  legal  paper  of  undoubted  antiquity,  going  back  at  least  to  1000 
B.  C. 

1 


759952 


•  c     r  ft  ,  •   ,    c 
.  "  .  .  t '    •  „'    » 


2.  ,.  ,     ;  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

f  </;;  I  :M,r/'Chalfant  has  with  great  patience  and  skill  written  with  his  own  hand  the 
characters  which  are  employed  in  the  text  and  accompanying  plates,  which  have 
been  carefully  reproduced  by  photogravure. 

W.  J.  Holland, 
Director  of  the  Carnegie  3hiseum. 

I.     ILLUSTRATIONS  OF   EARLY   WRITING   DERIVED   FROM 

ANCIENT   INSCRIPTIONS. 

The  study  of  alphabetic  or  syllabic  languages  readily  resolves  itself  into  two 
branches  :  orthography,  which  concerns  the  correct  use  of  letters  and  syllables  and 
the  history  of  these  phonetic  signs  ;  and  etymology,  which  deals  with  the  deriva- 
tion of  words  and  their  successive  changes  in  meaning.  The  fact  that  the  letters 
and  syllables  as  writing-signs  have  only  a  phonetic  value,  and  are  used  without 
reference  to  their  original  and  inherent  significance,  causes  a  distinct  demarcation 
between  the  two  branches  of  philology  just  mentioned.  For  example,  it  is  well 
known  that  our  letter  A  was  originally  an  ox's  head  and  signified  that  animal,  but 
it  does  not  follow  that  every  word  containing  the  letter  A  must  needs  have  some 
connection  with  an  ox. 

Turning  now  to  ideographic  languages,  the  case  is  very  different.  Here  the  word 
or  symbol  is  in  itself  significant  of  the  meaning  which  it  bears.  The  A  still  means 
"  ox,"  when  it  occurs  alone  or  in  combination,  and  the  student  must  determine  what 
relation  the  accepted  meaning  of  the  symbol  has  to  that  of  the  primitive  ideogram. 

The  Chinese  language  is  in  the  main  ideographic,  with  a  tendency  to  syllabism 
owing  to  the  infusion  of  certain  classes  of  signs  called  "  radicals  "  and  "  phonetics." 
Where  the  "  phonetic  "  is  purely  such,  the  student  need  not  attempt  to  reconcile  the 
accepted  meaning  of  the  complex  symbol  with  that  of  the  phonetic  sign,  the  specific 
meaning  of  which  may  be  quite  foreign  to  that  of  the  complex  symbol  in  which 
the  phonetic  occurs.^  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  "  phonetic  "  was  at  one  time  a  new  idea  to  the  Chinese.  Once  appreci- 
ated, they  applied  it  widely,  and  where  a  writer  discovered  in  an  old  symbol  some 
semblance  of  a  newly  recognized  phonetic,  he  forthwith  altered  it  to  suit  the  phonetic 
scheme.  This  recalls  the  old-time  rage  in  Europe  for  Latin  derivations,  which  led 
to  the  Latinizing  of  familiar  Anglo-Saxon  words,  e.  g.,  tongue  from  A.  S.  "  tung." 

In  many  instances  the  Chinese  resorted  to  punning  in  order  to  bring  a  certain 
symbol  into  the  phoneticized  class.     Such  may  have  been  the  case  in  the  symbol 

'  An  example  of  this  is  shown  in  the  sign  [■^J  yu  =  "park. "  The  phonetic  j&  yu  means  ' ' have, "  and  here  has 
only  a  phonetic  value. 


CHALFANT:    EARLY  CHINESE   WKITINU  3 

■^  cJamg  —  "grasshopper."  This  is  contracted  from  t^*^  which  is  made  up  of  ^ 
chung  =  "multitude"  and  v^  "insects."  This  "multitudinous  insect"  happened  to 
be  called  "chunfj,"  so  that  in  selecting  a  phonetic  sign  "chung"  a  pun  was  apparently 
made  by  adopting  the  symb(jl  ^  =  "  multitude."  Without  doubt  many  phonetics 
add  to  the  meaning  of  the  symbol  in  which  they  occur.  These  we  may  call  "sig- 
nificant phonetics"  to  distinguish  them  from  such  as  are  used  without  reference  to 
their  inherent  meaning. 

It  thus  appears  that  in  the  Chinese  language  orthography  and  etymology  over- 
lap. The  key  to  the  meaning  of  a  sign  lies  in  the  ideogram  itself.  When  we  study 
the  changes  in  the  form  of  the  symbols  we  also  learn  the  history  of  their  varied 
meanings.  Besides  the  "phonetic"  we  find  another  class  of  affixed  signs  intended 
to  aid  the  reader  in  distinguishing  the  nature  of  the  symbols.  These  have  unfor- 
tunately been  called  "radicals,"^  whereas  "determinatives"  or  "classifiers"  would 
have  been  better.  They  determine  the  nature,  class,  or  material  of  the  symbol  to 
which  they  are  attached.  Thus  words  of  feeling  will  likely  appear  with  the  "heart 
{i\lt>  or  >f)  radical "  affixed.  The  names  of  wooden  things  contain  the  sign  for  "  tree  " 
(;^).  The  names  of  metallic  objects  are  accompanied  by  the  "metal  ('^)  radical."^ 
There  are  now  two  hundred  and  fourteen  radicals,  reduced  from  the  five  hundred 
and  forty  "primitives"  or  "classifiers"  of  the  Shuo  Wen,  A.  D.  120,  (see  infra). 
Many  of  them  designate  incongruous  groups  of  symbols  not  mutually  related,  and 
often  utterly  at  variance  with  the  meaning  of  the  radical.  This  has  happened 
through  the  accidental  coincidence  of  forms  in  many  symbols  which  have  been 
evolved  from  widely  dissimilar  roots.  A  marked  example  of  this  incongruity  is  the 
group  of  symbols  under  Rad.  44  (/^  "corpse"),  very  few  of  which  have  any  relation 
to  death. 

Familiarity  with  Chinese  modes  of  thought,  methods  of  work,  and  social  customs 
aids  much  in  determining  the  significance  of  certain  old  signs.  The  history  of 
ancient  institutions  which  have  now  passed  away,  or  been  modified,  also  helps  in 
the  same  manner.  For  example,  it  is  a  tradition  among  the  Chinese  that  the  East 
Palace  was  the  hall  of  audience  and  place  for  administering  the  laws.  When  we 
find  an  old  symbol  for  "judge"  composed  of  the  elements  "east"  (^)  and  "speak" 
(E))  we  see  an  appropriateness  in  the  combination  from  the  ancient  custom  of 
"judging"  in  the  "East"  Palace.* 

^Tlie  Chinese  name  is  !X!  ^p  (s'i-pu  "word-class"  or  "classifier."  The  collo<|nial  term  is  l|Z  &■  M  nm 
"  word-raotber." 

'This  is  nsnally  termed  the  "gold  radical."  It  means  metal  of  any  kind,  and  "  gold  "  only  by  its  preeminence 
as  a  metal. 

<The  edict  of  Wu  Wang  (?),  referred  to  elsewhere  as  the  "San  Edict,"  was  "given  in  the  East  Audience  Hall." 


4  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 

Care  must  be  taken  not  to  overvalue  fantastic  and  distorted  symbols,  due  to 
illiteracy  or  intentional  alteration.  Sometimes  a  pictograph  occurs  where  a  descrip- 
tive ideogram  already  existed  for  the  same  object.  Thus  in  a  certain  old  inscription 
the  picture '^'*  occurs  for  the  descriptive  symbol,  tla  (modern  |^  ki  "chicken"), 
"bird"  -jl  with  "claAvs"  (A  and  "feathers,"  f\.  While  the  latter  contains  nothing 
characteristic  of  a  chicken  as  compared  with  other  birds,  still  it  is  descriptive  and 
not  pictorial.  The  picture  of  the  bird  answers  the  purpose  of  conveying  thought 
just  as  well  as  the  descriptive  symbol,  but  it  would  be  wrong  to  infer  that  the  two 
are  identical  as  pictographs.  They  are  merely  two  separate  signs  for  the  same  idea. 
Possibly  the  writer  in  this  case  was  not  familiar  with  the  existing  sign,  and  so  drew 
a  picture  of  a  chicken  which  answered  just  as  well,  and  was  quite  in  keeping  with 
the  genius  of  his  language.  Instances  do  occur  where  an  incongruous  collection  of 
elementary  signs  in  the  modern  symbol  resolves  itself  into  a  pictograph  as  the  forms 
are  traced  back.  Take  the  symbol  "  to  fly  "  (fei)  as  an  illustration  of  this,  beginning 
with  the  modern  form:  ^<ff|<^<:^<;(^<^-  Here,  from  a  conventional  modern 
sign,  we  trace  the  successive  forms  to  that  of  an  undoubted  pictograph,  wherein  the 
idea  of  flight  is  beautifully  portrayed. 

The  appended  list  of  some  four  hundred  symbols  will  suffice  to  show  that 
etymology,  when  applied  to  the  Chinese  language,  appeals  mainly  to  the  eye,  and 
hence  has  more  of  orthography  in  it  than  it  has  of  phonology,  the  main  thing  in  the 
study  of  alphabetic  languages. 

Sources  op  Knowledge  Concerning  Early  Chinese  Writing. 

The  modern  style  of  Chinese  writing  had  its  beginning  in  the  reign  of  the 
founder  of  the  Ch'in  Dynasty  (B.  C.  240),  when  the  substitution  of  the  hair-pencil 
for  the  metal  stylus  (Fig.  1)  for  engraving  hard  surfaces  wrought  an  important 
change  in  the  shape  of  the  symbols.  Prior  to  that  date  the  prevailing  scheme  was 
that  of  curved  lines,  due  to  the  habit  of  engraving  upon  copper,  stone,  bamboo,  or 
other  hard  substances  by  means  of  a  metal  point.  This  rendered  curved  lines 
easier  of  execution  than  straight  lines  and  angles.  The  hair-pencil  on  paper  did 
not  lend  itself  readily  to  these  shapes,  and  we  find  the  "square  character"  in  the 
ascendency  until  it  entirely  supplanted  the  older  system  of  "seal  character"  about 
A.  D.  400. 

This  change  in  penmanship  so  modified  the  appearance  of  the  written  signs  as 
to  greatly  obscure  and  almost  obliterate  their  pictorial  character.     Hence  the  neces- 

'This  resembles  the  pictograph  for  "kite,"  -^  see  Plate  XV.,  No.  204. 


CHALFANT:  EARLY  CHINESE  WRITING 


sity  for  seeking  older  sources  of  information  than  that  afforded  by  the  modern  text. 
Fortunately  we  have  many  examples  of  the  older  text  in  (1)  ancient  inscriptions 
preserved  in  existing  works  by  Chinese  scholars,  a'nd  in  (2)  exhumed 
inscribed  objects  of  durable  materials,  such  as  bronze,  copper,  stone, 
and  bone. 

As  to  the  value  of  the  first  source,  there  is  a  risk  that  intentional 
or  accidental  changes  in  the  text  may  have  occurred  in  copying  from 
older  manuscripts  or  from  the  original  inscriptions.  The  Chinese 
have  not  the  high  reputation  as  faithful  copyists "  which  is  credited  to 
the  Hebrews,  whose  scribes  were  superstitiously  careful  in  reproduc- 
ing their  Scriptures.  Many  errors  have  crept  into  the  text  of  the 
Chinese  classics,  which  are  undoubtedly  traceable  to  careless  tran- 
scription. 

The  student  must  further  be  on  his  guard  against  spurious  and 
forged  inscriptions.  Such  was  the  reputed  "  Tablet  of  Yii,"  which 
first  appeared  as  a  manuscript  copy  purporting  to  have  been  taken 
from  a  stone  tablet  found  on  a  mountain  in  the  Yang-tze  valley.  Had 
it  proved  genuine  we  would  have  possessed  an  inscription  of  the 
greatest  antiquity  (circa  2200  B.  C).  But  this  is  now  pronounced  a 
forgery  by  the  best  Chinese  scholars,  both  native  and  foreign. 

Perhaps  the  best  extant  collection  of  ancient  Chinese  inscriptions  referred  to  chon 
is  that  published  by  a  famous  scholar  of  Yang  Chow,  Juan  Yiian  b  q  500),  re- 
(P/L  ft)'  who  in  1803  reedited  the  work  of  an  earlier  scholar,  Hsiie   <ineed  in  size. 


Fig.  1.  Form 
of  bronze  stylus 
from  specimens 


f  Al-i     /l^ 


Shang-Kung  (  g|  \^  i;{^),  adding  sixty-seven  transcriptions  to  the  four  hundred  and 
ninety-three  of  the  original  treatise. 

The  vocabulary  obtained  from  all  these  is  very  limited,  for  most  of  the  texts 
yield  only  the  conventional  phrases  inscribed  upon  sacrificial  vessels,  halberds,  and 
swords.  One  inscription  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  symbols  is  referred  to 
the  reign  of  Wu  Wang  {■^  ^)  (circa  B.  C.  1122),  and  affords  the  oldest  known 
Chinese  writing  of  determinate  date.     (See  infra.) 

Inscribed  objects  of  undoubted  genuineness,  which  have  been  exhumed,  while 
they  prove  the  most  reliable  source  of  knowledge  of  ancient  writing,  are  far  from 
satisfactory  in  that  it  is  seldom  possible  to  fix  their  dates.  The  ancient  Chinese 
had  a  tantalizing  habit  of  carefully  inscribing  the  number  of  the  year,'  month,  and 

°  In  fairness  to  Chinese  authors,  their  first  editions  are  usually  accurate.  It  is  in  reprints  that  numerous  errors 
jccnr  through  careless  proof-reading. 

^Chinese  chronology  is  not  on  a  consecutive  basis  upon  an  established  era,  but  upon  the  successive  reigns,  often 
nbstituting  the  cycle-year  for  year  of  the  reign. 


6  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

day,  and  omitting  to  designate  the  reign.  Their  ancient  sacrificial  tripods  and 
libation  cups  are  often  inscribed  thus  :  "  Tenth  year,  first  moon,  I  make  this  vessel 
as  a  precious  memorial  for  the  perpetual  use  of  my  descendants  "  (•^  ^|  ^  '^  j^). 
Had  only  the  solicitous  ancestor  added  the  current  reign,  how  much  more  valuable 
would  have  been  his  message  to  the  antiquarian  of  to-day. 

An  extensive  find  of  inscribed  tortoise  shells  and  bones  of  sacrificial  animals  was 
made  by  Chinese  in  1899  while  digging  in  or  near  the  ancient  city  Chao  Kuo 
Ch'eng  (|^  J^  i^),  now  Wei-Hui-Fu,  in  Honan  Province.  These  have  been 
reviewed  by  the  writer  and  found  to  be  inscribed  in  an  archaic  style  difficult  to 
decipher.  The  entire  set  of  inscriptions  may  yield  600  different  symbols,  and  are 
probably  referable  to  the  early  Chou  Dynasty  (circa  B.  C.  1000).     (See  infra.) 

Small  bronze  objects  which  furnish  meager  data  to  the  investigator  of  early 
symbolism  are  coins,  seals,  and  martial  accoutrements,  such  as  swords,  spear-heads, 
buckles,  chariot  hubs,  and  crossbow  triggers.  These  furnish  a  limited  vocabulary 
of  geographical  names  and  numerals,  together  with  devices  and  monograms  the 
significance  of  which  has  been  lost. 

The  inscriptions  on  coins  are  prolific  in  names  of  cities,  numerals,  and  mint- 
marks  of  uncertain  meaning.  Contracted  symbols  are  frequently  noted  on  ancient 
Chinese  coins,  just  as  on  those  of  other  nations,  and  allowance  must  be  made  for 
this  when  comparing  these  symbols  with  the  fuller  forms  found  elsewhere.  Thus 
j^  appears  for  (^  (modern  form  |^)  used  to  this  day  to  specify  the  denomination  of 
a  coin.  ^^  often  appears  for  ^  (modern  form  ^),  "  exchange "  or  "  commercial 
value." 

Bronze  and  stone  seals  by  their  nature  and  use  contribute  but  little  to  the  list 
of  ancient  symbols,  monograms  and  fanciful  signs  having  been  in  use  for  this  pur- 
pose from  the  earliest  times. 

Trade-marks  on  pottery  afibrd  a  few  old  symbols,  especially  those  found  on  frag- 
ments exhumed  on  the  site  of  ancient  cities  the  date  of  the  overthrow  of  which 
is  approximately  fixed  by  history  or  tradition. 

Another  important  source  of  information  is  the  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the 
Han  Dynasty,  known  as  the  Shuo  Wen  (^'£  jQ  "  speech  signs,"  which  was  compiled 
by  the  scholar  Hsii  Shen  and  firat  published  A.  D.  120.  The  opinions  of  Sino- 
logues have  differed  widely  as  to  the  value  of  this  work.  After  making  allowance 
for  a  corrupt  modern  text,  and  for  the  frequent  flights  of  imagination  made  by  the 
author,  it  must  be  conceded  that  this  celebrated  work  ranks  high  as  an  etymological 
treatise,  when  compared  with  like  works  upon  European  languages  produced  at  a 
much  later  date  by  Western  scholars.    As  an  incidental  evidence  of  the  conscientious 


CHALFANT:  EAELY  CHINESE   WRITING  7 

thoroughness  of  this  Chinese  lexicographer,  he  remarks  concerning  the  symbol  Ji^ 
ye  that  on  the  standard  measures  of  Er-shih  Huang-ti  ,=.  1^;  ^  'i^  (B.  C.  230)  the 
form  "Y"  appears.  For  centuries  nothing  else  was  known  of  this  unusual  form  until 
a  set  of  these  old  "standard  measures"  was  unearthed,  and  there  appeared  the 
sign  ■'ij"  exactly  as  the  lexicographer  had  noted. 

Unfortunately  the  original  text  of  this  famous  dictionary  is  not  extant,  for  all 
modern  editions  show  the  old  symbols  analyzed  by  the  author  Hsii  in  the  style 
called  "small  seal" — a  refined  form  developed  during  the  Han  Dynasty  (B.  C. 
206-A.  D.  264).*  Another  valuable  work  on  the  ancient  language  is  the  Liu  Shu 
T'ung  (A.  f"i3,)  "Comparison  of  the  Six  Scripts." 

Still  another  valuable  treatise  is  that  by  a  scholar  of  Shantung  Province,  Chou 
}^  by  name,  whose  beautiful  and  accurate  .syllabary  of  the  ancient  Chinese  language 
is  based  upon  the  Liu  Shu  T'ung.  It  appeared  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  Emperor 
Kang-hsi  (A.  D.  1670),  and  is  printed  in  black  and  red  ink  for  perspicuity.'  The 
author  adds  a  vast  number  of  old  symbols  copied  from  antique  bronzes  and  stone 
tablets,  presumably  in  private  collections  of  Chinese  antiquarians. 

These  works  show  evidence  of  careful  transcription  and  classification  of  sym- 
bols, but  with  characteristic  vagueness,  the  authors  fail  to  record  exactly  how  and 
where  they  obtained  their  information  and  data.  Nevertheless  I  consider  these 
catalogues  fairly  reliable,  barring  typographical  errors  so  frequent  in  Chinese  books. 

CHINESE   IDEOGRAMS. 
Origin  of  Chinese  Writing. 

The  beginning  of  the  Chinese  written  language  is  lost  in  obscurity.  The  popular 
tradition  that  it  began  with  knotted  cords '"  and  developed  through  the  grotesque 
"  tadpole  letters,"  has  little  to  substantiate  it.  It  is  true  that  many  ancient  inscrip- 
tions are  extant,  the  symbols  in  which  are  formed  by  alternating  light  and  heavy 
strokes  resembling  the  form  of  tadpoles,  but  when  these  are  reduced  to  plain 
writing  they  will  be  found  to  belong  to  a  highly  developed  orthography  not  difFer- 

*  As  proof  that  the  original  text  of  the  Shuo  Wen  was  in  a  more  archaic  style,  I  notice  that  the  forms  quoted  by  a 
Chinese  etymologist  of  A.  D.  1670,  differ  from  those  now  extant.  This  writer  must  have  had  access  to  a  texl  of  the 
Shuo  Wen  nearer  to  the  original  than  that  of  to-day. 

'  A  complete  copy  of  the  first  edition  is  in  po.sges8ion  of  the  writer. 

'"Granted  that  the  Chinese,  like  other  peoples  in  their  primitive  state,  used  knotted  cords,  it  does  not  follow  that 
such  a  system  of  recording  and  transmitting  ideas  had  intimate  connection  with  a  scheme  of  piotographs  subsequently 
devised.  It  is  even  possible  that  at  an  early  date  the  tradition  of  a  knotted  cord  system  was  so  current  as  to  lead  writers 
to  imitate  it  in  {ascribing  their  written  signs,  just  as  they  delighted  to  make  ornamental  iusoriptions,  weaving  birds, 
beasts,  and  insects  into  all  the  characters. 


8  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 

ing  essentially  from  the  well-known  "seal  character"  of  the  early  Han  Dynasty 
(B.  C.  200). 

A  more  reasonable  conclusion  is  drawn  from  what  we  find  in  the  most  ancient 
inscriptions,  to  wit,  that  the  Chinese,  like  most  other  peoples,  began  to  record  ideas 
by  scratching  rude  pictures  upon  wood,  stone,  bone,  or  metal,  in  order  to  suggest 
the  thought  to  be  conveyed.  Among  these  rude  beginnings  of  language  are  found 
the  outline  drawings  of  animals,  wild  and  domestic,  which  soon  assumed  conven- 
tional forms  merely  suggestive  of  the  more  elaborately  carved  originals. 
tin  one  instance  a  tiger  is  represented  with  the  attached  symbol  for  "  tree  " 
as  if  to  indicate  that  the  beast  inhabited  the  jungle,  the  sign  ()|<.)  being 
Ancient  sym-     identical  with  ;^  "  tree." 

boHor  jungle  rj^j^^  oldest  preserved  inscriptions  are  found  upon  bronze  vessels  and 

implements,  upon  stone  and  brick  tablets,  on  bones  used  in  sacrifice  and 
divination,  and  on  bronze  coins  vaguely  referred  to  the  Yin,  Shang,  and  early  Chou 
Dynasties  (B.  C.  1100-2000),  as  already  noted. 

Such  inscriptions  are  unsatisfactory  because  of  their  brevity,  and,  in  the  case  of 
coins,  on  account  of  the  habit  of  abbreviation  in  order  to  save  space  and  labor.  This 
last  unfortunate  characteristic  renders  the  coin-inscriptions  at  once  difficult  to 
decipher,  and  unreliable  as  complete  specimens  of  early  symbolism.  It  seems  a 
safe  inference  from  the  oldest  inscriptions  on  bronze  vessels  and  tablets  that  the 
original  Chinese  writing  was  pictographic. 

Pictographs,  as  found  among  these  primitive  symbols,  may  be  divided  into  two 
kinds,  (1)  those  based  upon  the  form  of  the  object  as  q  f  f  (now  T)"  picturing  the 
head  or  side-view  of  a  "nail,"  or  as  51^  and  ^  the  right  and  left  hands  (contracted 
from  ^  and  ^  which  show  the  five  fingers),  and  (2)  those  suggested  by  some  real  or 
imaginary  characteristic  of  the  object,  as  3^  (now  ^)  "  father,"  composed  of  a  ver- 
tical line  attached  to  ^  ("  right  hand  ")  and  signifying  a  "rod  in  the  hand"  as  a  sign 
of  authority,  hence  "father,"  who  was  tlie  absolute  ruler  of  the  household  or  clan. 
Wang  Chun  of  Shantung,  one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  Chinese  scholars,  whose 
commentary  is  embodied  in  recent  editions  of  the  Shuo  Wen,  states  in  his  preface 
that  writing  began  with  pictures  of  things  which  appealed  to  the  senses.  These 
developed  into  abstract  ideas,  and  these  in  turn  gave  rise  to  indefinable  particles 
such  as  conjunctions  and  prepositions  (classed  by  the  Chinese  under  the  general 
terra  of  "empty  symbols").     The  same  scholar  gives  numerous  examples  of  this 

"Chinese,  following  the  Shuo  Wen,  consider  this  iis  originally  the  picture  of  an  insect's  sting.  This  will  not 
account  for  the  form  0>  ^^^  ^^^  author  of  the  Shuo  Wen  adds  that  when  men  made  nails  of  metal  and  wood,  these  were 
allied  in  form  to  a  sting  ("]")•     I  prefer  to  consider  the  nail  as  the  original  basis  of  the  sign. 


CHALFANT  :  EARLY   CHINESE  WRITING  9 

development,  and  while  he  introduces  some  absurdities,  yet  in  the  main  makes  a 
plausible  argument  for  his  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  written  language. 

Many  of  these  primitive  pictographs  are  still  in  use,  but  so  altered,  owing  to  the 
present  changed  style  of  penmanship,  that  they  are  not  recognizable  until  they  are 
compared  with  the  successive  preceding  forms.  Take,  for  example,  the  modern 
symbol  for  "elephant"  (%).  How  little  it  resembles  that  animal!  But  note  the 
evolution  of  the  symbol  through  extant  earlier  forms:   ^<^<^<^<^<^-     To 

anyone  accustomed  to  study  orthographic  changes,  the  proof  is  positive  that  ^  is  only 
the  original  pictographic  "elephant,"  with  position  altered  for  convenience  in 
writing  vertical  lines.  The  same  evolution  may  be  discerned  in  the  symbols  for 
most  of  the  animals  known  to  the  Chinese,  as  dog,  sheep,  cow,  horse,  deer,  tiger,  fish, 
snake,  tortoise,  toad,  worm,  bird,  and  swallow.  The  sign  for  "  man  "  (Latin  homo), 
/^,  is  plainly  a  picture,  derived  thus,  /^<  /^</\<^>  the  legs  being  apparently  the 
only  surviving  members. 

Plant  life  was  also  pictorially  portrayed.  ;:^  "wood"  was  originally  ^  "  tree," 
showing  branches  and  roots.  ;|;;^'Ms  two  trees  and  signifies  "forest"  or  "grove." 
^}.  "herbs"  was  once  ^'i/,  depicting  leaves  and  twigs.  ^  "indicator"  can  be  traced 
back  to  ^  a  "  line-tree "  or  "  hedge,"  marking  the  boundary  of  a  field,  being  a 
clump  of  bushes  pictorially  suggested. 

Inanimate  objects  came  in  for  a  full  share  of  pictorial  representation.  -^ 
"ship,"  in  its  modern  form,  is  scarcely  recognized  as  an  ideogram,  but  trace  it  back 
thus,  •j^<^<as^iJC-,  and  we  begin  to  detect  its  likeness  to  a  Chinese  junk,  though 
whether  a  side  view,  or  that  of  a  ship's  compartments  (m),  niay  be  an  unsettled 
point. 

^  (kin)  "  metal  "  still  approximates  its  oldest  forms,  as,  ^  ^  j^,  which  prob- 
ably refer  to  the  process  of  smelting,  being  composed  of  two  symbols  for  "  fire  "  (^) 
or  "intense  heat"  under  a  cover,"  (/\  or  P),  very  suggestive  of  molten  metal  in 
the  crucible. 

Abstract  ideas  were  also  presented  pictorially  with  considerable  ingenuity.  "East" 
being  the  "sun  "  (©)  rising  behind  a  "  tree  "  (^)  thus,  ^  (now  written  ^) ;  "  West  " 
was  suggested  by  a  "  bird  on  its  nest"  {^J,  the  transition  of  which  into  the  modern 
form  was  as  follows  '•* :  ,^>  ^  >  ^>^>\5-  Bii'ds  seek  their  nests  at  sunset,  hence  the 
idea  "West."  "Determination"  was  ^  formed  from  "issue"  (Ht.  "sprout";!;), 
and  "heart"  {^),  hence  "heart-sprout,"  "heart-issue,"  i.  e.,  "purpose,"  "determi- 
mination." 

"Still  older  forms  of  this  show  interlaced  branches  of  trees. 
"Another  old  form  is  §»,. 


10  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

"To  look"  was  light  streaming  from  the  eye,  thus,  ^  (now  written  fl)  based 
upon  a  peculiar  notion  still  held  by  the  Chinese  that  when  blind  "  no  light  comes 
out  of  the  eyes"  (§&  ^  /fj  )^).  "Large"  was  a  man  on  another's  shoulders  —  a 
man  above  another  —  (/^  ^  r*»  ^  "1^  ^  ^'  *^^®  ^^^^  being  the  modern  form).  The  popular 
idea  that  ^  ("  large  ")  is  a  "  man  "  (A)  above  the  "  average  height "  (shown  by  the 
horizontal  line)  is  hardly  sustained  by  the  oldest  forms. 

Elaborately  wrought  pictograms  were  attempted  at  a  very  early  date,  of  which 
two  examples  will  suffice  as  illustrations : 
•     f^  "pao"   (now,  ^)   denotes  "valuable,"  "precious,"   ideas   suggested   by  a 

^jj,  "house"  (f^)  containing  "jade  beads"  (f  or  J),  "shell"  (^)  and  an 

^^  "earthern  jar"  (^),  articles  of  value  to  primitive  man." 

Fig.    3.  "  To  cook  "  was  perhaps  the  most  complicated  of  all  the  ancient 

symbol^  /or  symbols.     It  is  now  written  •^,''^  which  retains  all  the  elements  of  the 

cookiug-  original  idiogram.     It  is  now  pronounced  feVari  and  signifies   "stove," 

stove. 

and  is  obsolete,  a  simpler  symbol  having  taken  its  place.  The  analysis 
is  as  follows  :  ($3  from  \i^  and  ^  "  millet-bowl  "  and  "jar";  H  "  oven-mouth  "  ;  %%, 
"wood-wood,"  i.  e.,fuel;  ^^  "two  hands"  ;  D^  "fire," — all  the  essentials  of  cooking. 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  MODERN  SYMBOLS. 

From  comparison  of  the  earlier  and  later  forms  of  Chinese  ideograms  we  ascer- 
tain four  ways  in  which  the  modern  style  was  evolved. 

1.  Contraction  of  early  complex  forms. 

2.  Expansion  of  early  simple  forms. 

3.  Artificial  alteration,  to  conform  to  the  inflexible  system  of  radicals  and 
phonetics. 

4.  Mechanical  invention  of  new  symbols,  along  conventional  lines,  by  combin- 
ing existing  forms. 

1.    Contraction  of  Early   Complex  Forms. 

This  process  is  common  to  all  languages,  whether  ideographic  or  alphabetic. 
It  grows  out  of  the  impatience  of  writers  with  unnecessarily  complicated  signs. 

ii?  (old  form  J^.)  '"«^  "  also,"  "  but,"  has  dwindled  to  JJ)-  '^^^e  change  was  per- 
haps thus,  ]^>'^>^>^'i>f2>T!f. 

"This  symbol  appears  with  many  variations  in  old  inscriptions,  sometimes  ornately  distorted,  as  ^aS,   ^$J,    ^. 

''Complex  as  this  symbol  is,  it  is  placed  among  the  five  hundred  and  forty  primitives  in  the  Shuo  Wen  and  must 
be  of  great  antiquity. 


CHALFANT:   EARLY  CHINESE   WRITING  11 

:^  ching,  "a  well,"  soon  became  4^,  discarding  the  well  mouth  and  retaining 
only  the  curb.  It  now  appears  as  ^.  The  ancient  division  of  land  into  nine  plots, 
thus,  ^,  had  for  its  symbol  #•  This,  from  its  resemblance  to  the  symbol  for 
"well,"  gave  rise  to  the  expression  "well-field"  in  common  parlance.  Doubtless 
this  had  some  influence  in  simplifying  the  sign  for  "  well." 

^^  si^,  "retainer,"  became  g]  (modern  5\)  by  rejecting  the  significant  sign  'W 
(modern  't)  "  bind."  It  passed  through  the  meaning  of  "  petty-officer  "  to  that  of 
the  verbal  sense  "manage." 

i^  hsin  "heart,"  originally  a  picture  of  that  organ,  is  now  merely  <0-  •' 

"^  hung  "  together,"  originally  two  pairs  of  hands  united,  became  it. 

f^  kung  "fear"  was  at  first  "  hands  raised  as  in  terror,"  but  is  now  reduced  to  f\ 
(used  only  in  combination).  Many  of  the  earliest  extant  forms  had  already  been 
contracted  from  more  elaborate  ideograms,  now  lost,  thus  rendering  their  original 
significance  difficult  to  determine. 

2.  Expansion  of  Early  Simple  Forms. 

At  an  early  stage  in  the  development  of  the  language,  confusion  arose  out  of  the 
coincidence  in  form  of  symbols  having  widely  different  meanings.  Thus  |  shih 
"ten"  gradually  became  -}-,  and  coincided  with  an  existing  symbol  -j-  which  meant 
"at"  or  "here."  The  latter  was  accordingly  expanded  to  -^  tsai  by  the  addition 
of  .^  a  sign  of  disputed  significance.  A  like  confusion  arose  between  -j-  "  ten  "  and 
-|-  an  early  contraction  of  ^  kia  (now  ^)  "finger-nail."  The  latter  resumed  its 
more  complex  form. 

^  teo  "  left-hand  "  ^^  and  ^  i/"- " ''ig^^^^'hand  "  "^  seem  to  have  been  satisfactory 
signs  till  after  B.  C.  1000,  when  they  became  respectively  ^  (;^)  and  ^  (;;^).  Why 
the  sign  x  ("  labor  ")  should  have  been  added  to  strengthen  the  idea  of  "  left "  is  hard 
to  say,  unless  the  left-hand  was  once  used  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  it  the  impor- 
tant member  for  work,  b  "mouth"  was  added  to  emphasize  "right-hand,"  pos- 
sibly because  that  member  was  used  in  eating.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
significance  of  these  additions,  the  fact  remains  that  the  older  symbols  were  thus 
amended. 

Another  strange  instance  was  that  of  l^  or  ^  tso,  "  make,"  to  which  J\  "  man  " 
was  added,  thus,  (|^  (modern  ■{^)  as  if  to  indicate  that  man  is  the  prime  inventor." 

"Some  writers  in  describing  these  signs  have  reversed  them.  The  right  hand  naturally  points  toward  the  left  and 
vice  versa.     This  is  plainly  shovjn  in  the  old  forms  for  ^  and  ^,  viz.,  ^  and  M . 

"  The  sign  ^  is  of  very  obscure  origin.  It  resembles  an  inverted  ax  ((j)  with  stroke  added.  _  Possibly  an  ax  or 
adz  in  position  of  chopping.     This  is  a  mere  conjecture. 


12  ■  MEMOIRS  OF   THE  CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 

3.  Artificial  Alteration  of  Old  Symbols. 

The  earliest  recorded  attempt  to  artificially  reduce  the  heterogeneous  written 
signs  to  a  system  was  by  one  Chou  (^|),  of  the  eighth  century,  B.  C,  Avho  became  a 
hterary  authority  in  the  state  of  Chou  (Ji]).  His  very  flowery  system  of  writing  has 
since  borne  his  name,  being  referred  to  in  all  Chinese  works  upon  the  history  of  the 
language  as  "Chou  Wen"  (Chou-writing).^^ 

Following  this,  but  of  disputed  date,  was  the  catalogue  of  signs  called  Er  Ya  (^ 
Jjl).  The  next  great  effort  to  classify  the  existing  symbols  was  by  the  author  of  the 
Shuo  Wen,  Hsii  (^^),  whose  posthumous  lexicon  appeared  A.  D.  120,  as  already 
stated.  He  classified  all  existing  characters  under  540  primitives,  which  gave  rise 
to  the  modern  classification  under  214  primitives  ("radicals").  This  conventional- 
ization of  the  written  language  forced  many  incongruous  symbols  into  classes  with 
which  they  had  no  etymological  affinity.  These  isolated  ideograms  were  artificially 
changed  that  they  might  be  classified  for  ease  of  lexicography.  A  marked  instance 
of  this  was  the  symbol  ^  piao,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  above.  This  was 
originally  the  picture  of  a  mulberry  bush  or  other  shrub  used  to  mark  the  boundary 
of  a  field.  It  depicts  a  bunch  of  sprouts.  Later  it  took  the  general  meaning  of 
"indicator"  and  to-day  it  is  applied  to  any  instrument  which  records  or  marks 
degrees,  as  a  watch,  barometer,  cyclometer,  etc.  This  interesting  sign  now  appears 
under  the  "radical"  or  primitive  ^  "cloak"  in  the  anomolous  form  ^,  seemingly 
composed  of  a  modified  i  "lord"  and  ;^  "cloak,"  neither  of  which  signs  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  its  original  form  or  meaning. 

^  wan  ("myriad")  is  another  case  in  point.  It  now  is  classified  as  if  derived 
from  ^Y  "plants,"  but  this  is  an  artificial  modification,  for  the  oldest  forms  are  ^ 
and  ^,  picturing  some  prolific  creature  as  the  scorpion  or  frog.^^  The  antennae  of 
the  scorpion  or  fore-legs  of  the  frog  have  been  confounded  with  ff  (-\f-)  "  plants." 

The  modern  character  ;^,  yii,  "fish,"  happens  to  be  itself  a  "radical,"  but  has 
been  so  altered  as  to  appear  to  contain  the  symbol  /n'*  (modified  form  of  ;^),  "  fire." 
This  is  misleading,  for  the  "fire  "  is  only  the  fish's  tail ;  thus  ^>  |t>§  >^>S>^^- 

The  symbol  for  "swallow"  (a  bird)  j^t  is  analogous  to  that  for  "fish,"  but 
now  is  classified  under  the  radical  %^  "  fire,"  contrary  to  its  origin,  the  develop- 
ment of  the  pictograph  having  taken  place  as  follows  :  ^  ^  m  .iat- 

The  above  examples  plainly  show  that  the  radical  and  phonetic  system  was  an 
invention  at  a  date  long  after  the  heterogeneously  devised  symbols  had  become 
current  in  writing,  and  even  the  compounding  of  signs  had  come  into  vogue. 

"  This  highly  ornate  style  of  writing  was  not  generally  adopte<1  on  acconnt  of  the  complexity  of  the  symbols. 
"  Analogous  to  the  Egyptian  use  of  the  sign  "  frog  "  for  100,000. 


chalfant:  early  chinese  writing  13 

4.  Mechanical  Invention  of  New  Symbols. 

This  class  of  new  characters  forms  by  far  the  largest,  comprising  perhaps  nine- 
tenths  of  the  forty-five  thousand  symbols  known  to  Chinese  lexicographers.  Ten 
thousand  signs  is  an  ample  number  to  put  to  the  credit  of  the  Chinese  language  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  Era.  Tiiis  roughly  marks  the  date  when  the  mechanical 
multiplication  of  characters  became  excessive.  The  process  was  simple,  that  of  com- 
bining existing  forms  according  to  the  conventional  system  of  radicals  and  phonetics. 
Indeed,  for  purposes  of  etymology  three  thousand  symbols  are  all  that  need  be  ex- 
amined, the  artificial  combination  of  signs  having  been  begun  as  early  as  500  B,  C. 

In  every  branch  of  industry  new  usages  were  requiring  new  names.  This  lack 
was  supplied  by  the  simple,  though  often  clumsy,  union  of  two  or  more  existing 
signs,  usually  annexing  a  "radical"  to  suggest  the  nature  or  material  of  the  new 
thing.  Most  of  these  new  characters  were  short-lived,  and  to-day  the  basis  of  the 
written  language,  as  used  by  scholars,  is  still  the  few  thousand  symbols  of  the  class- 
ical period  (B.  C.  500-200). 

Erroneous  Deductions  from  the  Modern  Style  of  Chinese  Writing. 

Mistakes  in  comparative  orthography  frequently  occur  by  drawing  conclusions 
from  the  modern  Chinese  "square-character,"  which  has  so  far  departed  from  the 
original  pictographic  style  as  to  be  an  unsafe  guide  to  the  casual  observer.  Occa- 
sionally symbols  are  found,  which  to-day  approximate  their  originals  more  closely 
than  do  the  intermediate  "  seal  characters." 

A  few  examples  may  be  cited  of  such  pictographs  as  have  passed  from  a  prim- 
itive angular  style  through  the  rounded  form  of  the  "seal  character"  into  the 
modern  "  square-character,"  in  which  form  they  coincide  with  the  original  shape. 
Take  the  modern  symbol  \±J  fien,  "field."  Formerly  it  was  ©,  but  originally  it 
was  H,  a  subdivided  square  farm.  Q  ivei,  "  enclosed  area,"  was  originally,  as  now, 
a  square,  but  w^as  long  written  thus  Q,  when  curved  lines  prevailed.  But  in  gen- 
eral it  is  unsafe  to  use  the  modern  style  of  writing  for  philologic  deductions. 

The  following  will  serve  as  examples  of  the  misleading  nature  of  modern  forms  : 

The  symbol  ^  mu,  "  tree,"  might  suggest  a  rooted  tree  projecting  above  the 
ground,  and,  indeed,  has  been  frequently  so  interpreted,  but  the  original  form,  ^ 
or  ^,  shows  a  tree  with  branches  and  roots. 

^flp'eng,  "friend,"  looks  as  if  it  were  twin  moons  (J^)  or,  as  has  been  actually 
inferred,  the  duplicated  sign  for  "  flesh."  ^°  But  in  fact  this  symbol  is  a  contraction 
of  a  more  complex  form  ^^,  "  a  pair  of  birds,"  a  happy  symbol  of  "  friendship." 

""llj.  "flesh,"  in  combination  usually  appears  as  f[.  Some  have  supposed  00  to  have  been  ^^,  "a  pair  of 
shells,"  but  I  find  no  authority  for  such  a  derivation. 


14  MEMOIRS  OF  TflE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

A  certain  writer  has  assumed  the  sign  3  to  be  the  original  of  Q,  "sun,"  and  on 
this  erroneous  liypothesis  he  makes  the  imaginary  sign  3  to  correspond  to  "  the  tri- 
dent of  the  three  seasons  of  Orion."  Had  he  noticed  that  Q  was  once  Oi  such  a 
conclusion  would  have  been  impossible. 

0  pi,  "ought,"  a  sign  of  duty  or  necessity,  looks  like  "  heart"  (/O)  cut  by  a 
stroke.  Imagination  might  work  out  a  theory  based  upon  the  heart  cut  or  pricked 
by  a  sense  of  duty.  "No  such  psychological  process  is  even  hinted  at  by  the  early 
forms  of  this  character,  which  are  ^  >^<  *^  "^  6c  X  jM-  '^'^^  ^^^^  °^  these  enig- 
matic forms  ()^()  is  the  "small  seal"  character  of  the  Han  Dynasty,  which  is  the 
nearest  chronologically  to  the  modern  "  square  character " /J^v  The  two  vertical 
curved  lines  of  the  older  form  correspond  to  the  right  and  left  dots  of  the  pres- 
ent form,  while  the  part  ^  has  now  become  ^,  the  central  portion  of  tbe  modern 
symbol.  The  resemblance  to  "  heart "  is  thus  merely  accidental.  None  of  the  old 
forms  have  any  suggestion  of^,  which  is  the  old  writing  of /\^\  "  heart."  '^^ 

Incongruity  Between  Form  of  Symbol  and  Meaning. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  another  phenomenon  of  orthographic  evolution,  the  enig- 
matic form  and  sense  of  many  Chinese  symbols. 

Certain  modern  forms  have  such  a  variety  of  unrelated  and  conflicting  mean- 
ings as  to  raise  the  suspicion  that  they  present  under  one  form  a  common  resultant 
from  several  different  roots.  Thus  4^  t'ai,  "  lofty,  large,"  is  defined  in  the  Shuo 
Wen  as  "slippery."  A  comparison  of  the  old  forms  shows  a  divergence,  as  we  go 
back,  toward  two  separate  roots,  viz.,  ^,  which  is  three  times  the  sign  ^,  "large," 
forming  an  intensive  signifying  "  very  great,"  and  ^,  composed  of  "  clay  "  j£, 
"hands"  l^\  and  "water"  ;|;,  a  very  appropriate  symbol  for  "slippery."  The 
modern  symbol  contains  elements  of  both  of  these  roots,  though  it  retains  only 
the  meanings  derived  from  its  root  ^.  It  is  safe  to  conclude  that  ^  t'ai  is  a  com- 
posite of  both  of  the  old  symbols  described. 

The  sign  ^^^  jile  means  "harmonious,"  and  also  "a  certain  mythical  tree." 
These  apparently  incongruous  definitions  can  be  reconciled  when  we  find  among 
the  old  forms  ^,  three  hands  together,  i.  e.,  "  harmony."  Again,  we  encounter  *|*, 
which  is  a  symbol  of  vegetation  and  suggests  the  "tree,"  of  which  ^^  jiie  is  the 
name.  These  both  coalesced  in  J^^  and  so  give  us  the  one  symbol  from  the  two  widely 
different  roots. 

'^tang,  means    "ought,"   "count,"  "considered,"   "to  pawn,"  to    "obstruct," 

"There  is  a  striking  analogy  in  some  of  tlie  old  forms  of  ij^  with  those  of  ^(^  ek'io  "omen,"  viz., 
W     '/y     'll'l'  'M*'  supposed  to  be  lines  on  tortoise  shell  used  tor  divination. 


CHALFANT:  EARLY   CHINESE  WRITING  15 

etc.,  etc.  The  phenomena  exhibited  in  its  old  forms  lead  us  to  suspect  that  it,  too, 
is  an  incongruous  composite  from  more  than  one  root. 

Tlie  character  ^^  [Ghih)  is  the  name  of  a  river,  and  also  means  "to  govern," 
"  to  control."  The  oldest  forms  show  confusion  of  origin.  |§  plainly  designates  a 
river,  i'|;  being  an  old  form  for  >^  "stream,"  but  $«|^  fo),!^,  ^^so  occur  as  synonyms, 
and  are  analogous  to  |^  (now  o)  "  to  govern ").  A  possible  conclusion  is  that 
these  varied  forms  have  coalesced  in  y^,  which  retains  the  several  meanings  of  its 
components. 

Just  as  in  other  languages,  the  early  juggling  with  orthographic  signs  has  led  to 
puzzles  in  the  shape  of  monographic  signs  which  are  the  despair  of  the  philologist, 
unless  he  can  recover  the  lost  key. 

A  curious  phase  of  this  juggling  with  writing-signs  appeared  at  an  early  date  in 
the  development  of  the  Chinese  language.  I  refer  to  the  habit  of  reversing  or 
inverting  an  existing  sign  to  signify  its  opposite  in  meaning.  This  forms  a  distinct 
class  of  mechanically  devised  symbols. 

The  process  may  be  illustrated  thus  :  Having  accepted  an  English  word  "  hard  " 
as  descriptive  of  unyielding  substances,  we  might  have  adopted  "  drah "  (the 
reversed  spelling  of  "  hard  ")  as  suitable  for  the  opposite  meaning  "  soft."  Or,  being 
familiar  with  the  meaning  of  "child,"  we  might  have  reserved  it  to  signify  a  child 
of  good  conduct,  and  then  have  written  "  p^iqo  "  (letters  inverted)  to  mean  a  "  prodi- 
gal son"  who  has  turned  normal  conditions  upside  down.  Such  a  conception 
actually  seized  the  ancients  in  China  when  they  represented  "  unfilial "  by  <^  (now 
written  ^  fu),  the  inverted  character  ^  for  "  son "  (now  written  ^  te'i).  Another 
instance  is  that  of  the  now  obsolete  sign  ^  i  which  was  formerly  written  ]^  and 
signified  "to  turn  back."  It  is  the  reversed  symbol  ^  (^  shcn)  for  "body,"  and 
hence  was  considered  appropriate  for  the  idea  of  "about  face." 

£2  (now  twisted  into  ^)  means  "  deficient,"  and  in  form  it  is  the  reverse  of  J[ 
cMng  "exact,"  the  latter  being  the  older  symbol.  Again,  having  become  familiar 
with  the  sign  H  (now  altered  to  ^^^^  chile)  as  meaning  "sever,"  depicting  "cut 
silk  "  (^),  it  was  little  short  of  an  inspiration  that  led  some  scholar  to  adopt  the 
reverse  ^  for  the  idea  of  "connect,"  a  symbol  now  enlarged  to  ^,j^  "H." 

The  effort  to  construct  ideographs  for  the  negatives  "no,"  "not,"  "not  yet," 
"without"  and  "  do  not,"  seems  to  have  taxed  the  ingenuity  of  the  ancient  sign- 

'2  We  have  in  this  form  a  survival  of  an  old  variant  written  ^5  composed  of  "  silk,"  "  knife  "and  "  knot "  equally 
suggestive  of  "cutting."  It  is  further  curious  to  note,  among  the  old  forms  of  ^j^  ki,  "to  connect,"  several  which  seem 
to  be  III  with  variations.  This  may  he  4-^fei,  "  not,"  and  ^^,  "  sever,"  which  would  beanother  way  of  reversing  the 
meaning  of  the  sign. 


16  MEMOIRS  OF  THE   CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 

makers  of  China,  as  will  be  seen  by  noting  the  special  list  of  negatives  (see  Plate 

XXVIIL). 

The  most  complicated  of  all  these  is  the  sign  ^  "  Wu,"  -'minus,"  "without." 

In  its  modern  garb  it  suggests  a  likeness  to  iiiz  hsile,  "  blood,"  and  ^huo,  "  fire."    In 

fact,  it  is  connected  with  neither  of  these,  though  for  convenience  it  is  classed  under 

the  latter.     Taking  the  old  form  ^  as  a  means  of  comparison,  we  find  the  upper  part 

(  ^ )  has  been  cond^sed  into  j^,  leaving  the  "  two  trees  "  ( ^^  )  as  the  origin  of  the 

base  of  the  modern  symbol  i>i\.     The  Shuo  Wen  defines  it  as  "lost"  probably  from 

the  sign  ct  in  many  old  forms,  which  has  that  meaning.     The  inference  by  the 

commentators  of  the  Shuo  Wen  is,  "  'man'   ( JL  )  'lost'  (d)  in  the  'woods'    {^^) 

hence  'missing'  'minus.'"     This  is  a  far-fetched  explanation  and  fails  to  account 

for  an  essential  part  of  the  old  symbol  :^  ^. 

The  list  of  pictographs  and  ideograms  represented  in  Plates  I.-XXIX.  is  neither 
complete  nor  strictly  logical  in  arrangement.  They  have  been  selected  somewhat  at 
random  to  illustrate  the  pictorial  nature  of  the  language.  Many  of  the  symbols 
given  will  not  be  found  in  the  current  Chinese-English  dictionaries,  for  the  obvious 
reason  that  these  works  are  abridged,  excluding  many  obsolete  signs  which,  how- 
ever, played  an  important  part  in  the  early  development  of  the  written  language. 
I  have  tried  to  give  the  original  meanings  (where  ascertained),  which  often  seem 
remote  from  their  modern  significance.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  indicate  the 
old  pronunciation,  which  forms  a  different  branch  of  philology  from  that  herein 
discussed.  I  have  followed,  in  the  main,  the  Wade  system  of  Romanization,  with 
a  few  changes  which  seem  expedient  in  view  of  the  poverty  of  sounds  in  the  Peking 
Dialect,  upon  which  Sir  Thomas  Wade  based  his  system.^*  I  have  departed  from 
this  system  in  distinguishing  between  the  two  initial  sounds  "ch"  and  "k,"  which 
coalesce  in  Pekingese,  and  have  introduced  a  few  minor  changes  noted  in  the  key. 

Of  the  many  systems  of  Romanization  in  vogue,  that  by  Sir  Thos.  Wade  is  the 
most  widely  known.  It  is  the  standard  of  pronunciation  used  l:)y  the  British  Con- 
sular Body,  by  the  Chinese  Customs  and  Postal  Service,  and  by  Dr.  Herbert  Giles 
in  his  Anglo-Chinese  Dictionary.  It  is  also  used  largely  by  contributors  to  the 
Journals  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society.  This  has  naturally  given  wide  circulation 
to  Wade's  system,  and  is  sufficient  reason  for  its  adoption  in  this  paper.  The 
changes  introduced  have  been  due  partly  to  the  author's  choice,  and  partly  to  sug- 
gestions made  by  others. 

i"  See  note  at  Plate  XX  VIII. 

"  A  comparison  of  the  dialectic  variations  in  sounds  —  especially  the  old  sonnds  —  will  show  the  inadequacy  of 
Wade's  Systera  to  indicate  then). 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate 


iif       •  — ■  Seal 

'^'  '."*'  Modern        §  Form, 

e""°.  Form.        ^  A.  D. 

Sound.  ^  jOO 


Older  Forms. 


Elephant, 
Image, 
hsiang. 


Tiger, 
h%. 


Stag, 

lu. 


,      Horse, 


,-    Ox,  cow. 


Kam, 
6      sheep, 

yanij. 


Dog,  cur, 

kovL. 


Fish, 

yd. 


Toad, 


jy    Tortoise, 

kuei. 


Worm, 

11      insect, 

ch'uny. 


12 


13 


Long- 
tailed 
bird, 

niao. 


Short- 
tailed 
bird, 
chui. 


-.f    Swallow, 
yen. 


lib 


^ 


^ 


u 


/•IN 


W3 


^^ 


f  ii<; 


ik 


^ 


;t 


ii 


iffi^ 


A 


4 


1 


4 


.*, 


t 


'A 


ni 


4 


4^ 


¥ 


(? 


? 


^i*- 


i 


^^^ 


tvi 


n# 


^    r^ 


TrK- 


^€ 


^     $ 


¥  T 


f^H^^ 


>3t3 


(^»  #  ^ 


11^  I* 


t?  t 


Pi    ?X 


Ai 


ft 


"th      rH".      ^<y.. 

#  W  # 


Probable 
Original. 


^ 


o- 


rf 


^ 


^ 


1- 


T 


^ 


'sg^ 


-^^Sfr 


1 


Remarks. 


Shuo  WC'n  :  "  Large  beast 
in  Kiangnan,  with  long  pro- 
boscis and  tusks.  A  picture." 
lyory  carving  suggests  'image.' 


Rude  outline  of  a  tiger. 


Suggests  a  horned  animal. 


Outline  of  ram,  with  horns 
prominent. 


Animal  with  curled  tail  (like 
Chinese  cur  of  to-day). 


Original   form    is    deduced 
from  the  extant  forms. 


Original    form    is   deduced 
from  the  extant  forms. 


Worm  with  convolutions. 


Flying  bird  with  forked  tail. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol  IV. 


Plate  II. 


Sound.  ^'O""- 


_:        Seal 

o  Form , 

^  A.  D. 
oi       100. 


Older  Forms. 


,.    Pha>nix, 
Jing. 


^f.    Unicorn, 
chii. 


Rhin- 
17      oceros, 
liai. 


18 


Pig. 
luan. 


®- 


f 


7L 


Wild 

19      beast, 

shou. 


20 


Raven, 


Qj      Mouse, 
shu. 


Man 
22  (generic), 


Man 
23     (male); 
mm. 


24- 


Woman, 


Mother, 
25        dain, 


Son, 
26       cliild. 


27 


Son, 


Unman 
28        body, 
ithi'n. 


M«U 


>it 


A 


± 


^ 


^ 


^ 


# 


/L 


5 


A 


X 


I 


A. 


\I7 


^ 


;l 


if 


J] 


* 


^ 


^ 


iiv^ 


^ 


^^ 


^  ;%  ^  ^ 


00     ^^     ^^ 

s  t  ^ 

-sr     -C)     ^ 


fc^   %    %    \t 


R7\^'^\)C 


^^j.^  ®%  m 


^>  ^  ^  ^ 


^  ^  ^  ^  ^^ 


?f ^f^^^ 


H  ^ 


H§i^ 


Probable 
Original. 


^fTK 


% 


"x 


^ 


^A 


f[ 


* 


\ 


Remarks. 


Originally  a  picture  of  the 
phd'ui.x,  but  now  a  bird's  head 
ami  bird  radical. 


Original    is    deduced    from 
extant  forms. 


Rude  picture  of  a  pig. 


Sign  suggesting  a  beast,  with 
aninuU  radical  added  later. 


Derived  from  No.  12,  the 
raven  being  perhaps  the  most 
common  of  long-tailed  birds. 


Rude  picture  of  a  rodent. 
ShnoWen:  "General  name  for 
burrowing  vermin." 


Equivalent    to     the     Latin 

"Immo." 


"Weedy- field"  ^  and  No. 
48,  "muscle,"  suggesting 
man's  labor. 


Human     figure    with     bust 
prominent. 


Woman    with    paps   promi- 
nent. 

(Used  also  of  animals.) 


Male  infant. 


ShuoWC-n:  "Form  of  child's 
head." 

(Synonym  of  last. ) 


Outline   of    the   body   with 
'  man"  above  it. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV, 


Plate  III 


Meaning 

nnd 
Sound. 


29      Head, 

hIiou  . 


_•  Seal 

Modern       .S  Form, 

Form.        "o  A.  D. 

«  100. 


Older  Forms. 


30 


31 


Face, 


Eye, 


32       Ear, 


33 


34 


35 


36 


37 


Nose, 
pi. 


Mouth, 

k'ou. 


Hai  r, 


Hand, 
shou. 


Foot, 

tnu. 


„n  Whiskers, 


Waist,* 
39       wish, 

ym. 


40 


Hair 
of  tlie 
head, 

piao. 


41      Heart, 

hsM. 


Finger 
42        nail, 
kin. 


a 


^ 


n 


€ 


■f 


^ 


V?i7 


# 


.^> 


T 


^3 


4 


^7 


1 


f 


^ 


^ 


»^ 


# 


•Vi^ 


\^ 


m 


^ 


re 


d 


^ 


£ 


^ 


m 


</> 


% 


f 


t 


1^^ 


v 


i-^;)    (e1,  fe^    fe 


©  ©  ^  /  / 


H  §  ^  % 


II  ft  W  §  ^ 


tf  V  V 


^  ^X%  ^ 


Sl^IL 


^  tt 


J^  R  (^  n  A  t  A 


w«  y  ^^i!?^ 


f  ^4>f  f 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Probal)le 
Original. 


/ 


a 


^ 


t 


(?) 


^ 


0^ 


i^f 


^ 


T 


Remarks. 


Outline   of  face   with    hair 
above. 


'   Original    is    deduced   from 
extant  forms. 


Oblique  eye  (peculiar  to  the 
ijhinese  race). 


Outline  of  the  human  ear. 


Picture   of    the   nose,    with 
plionetic  y^   "pi"  added  later. 


Shuo  W6n  :  "That  with 
which  man  eats  and  speaks. 
.4  picture." 


Possibly  depicts  a  hairy  tail. 


Five  fingers. 


Contains  No.    110    "stop." 
Descriptive  sign,  not  pictorial. 


Shuo  Wen  :  "Cheek-hair." 
Rude  picture  of  whiskers. 
Now  used  only  as  a  disjunctive 
particle. 


(See  note.) 


Descriptive  symbol  com- 
posed of  two  signs  "long"  and 
' '  feathers." 


"Iltart"  showing  ventricles. 


Usually  used  as  cycle-sign, 
being  first  of  the  "  Ten  Stems.' ' 


*The  original  here  given  is  an  actual  form.     Figure  with  arms  akimbo,  hence  "  waist."     This  sign  was  early  adopted  for  "yao,"  meaning 
"  wish,"  and  so  tlie/ot/t  radical  was  added  to  strengthen  its  old  meaning  "  waist,"  thus  f&. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  IV 


^^and"^        Modern       |       pjnn, 
o        1  Form.        "2       A.  D. 

Sound.  «        jPQ 


Older  Forms. 


Finger 

43       J."""' 
inch, 

ts'un. 


Claw, 
44      talons, 
chao. 


45      Wings, 
yu. 


*  Form, 
46     appear- 
ance, 

viao. 


47    To  gape, 
k  'an. 


Sinew, 
48    strength, 
li. 


4n  Eyebrows, 


Horn, 
50      angle, 
kiie,  kiao. 


Tooth, 
51      molar, 

ya. 


Front 
52      teeth, 
cA'i. 


i 


A 


^^ 


u 


^ 


M 


i 


r\ 


i] 


^ 


■u 


Q 


ffl 


^ 


63 


Backbone, 

Id. 


54 


55 


Flesh, 

jou. 


Blood, 
ksiie. 


5g    Tongue, 

site. 


ah 
111 


it? 


Jfe 


^ 


ll 


^ 


rn 


Hh  ^ 


ifi  ^  ^  ^ 


^ 


u 


^ 


^J 


I 


.it 


cz 


xb 


il 


^ 


? 


1 


s 


!    ?^ 


t 


%  %  ^'i  !i^^ 


'^     '^  fZ' 


(1^9 


^  *  §  fi  g  i  ^ 


Ud,      Oil 


e  o  ^  u^Q 


X 


R  ^ 


M 


"^  T   iS 


Probable 
Original. 


Remarks. 


-■^ 


Ss 


# 


U 


^ 


'^ 


Fingers  with    short    stroke 
suggesting  "joint." 


Shuo  Wen  :  "Nails  of  fin- 
ger and  toe." 


Pair  of  wing.s,  or  Igng  fea- 
tliere. 


9 





Open  mouth.     Cf.  No.  34. 


Overlapping  muscles. 


Eye  with  eye-brows. 


Earliest  forms  are  inverted. 


Probably  shows  the  grinding 
surface  of  a  molar. 


Mouth  showing  teeth.    Pho- 
netic was  added  later. 


Vertebrse. 


Sign   suggesting  a  mass  of 
tlesh. 


Shuo  Wen  :    "Sacrificial 
blood  in  a  dish." 


Tongue  protruding.  Older 
forms  than  these  might  suggest 
the  original. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

•Depicts  the  human  form,  especially  the  face  (contracted  to  the  sign  for  "nose"),  which  now  coincides  with  ^  "pai"  by  further  con- 
traction.    Its  special  significance  is  " individuality,"  "decorum." 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  V 


Meaning 
and 

Sound. 


Worm, 
57    winding, 

pa. 


Right 
58  hand,  also. 
yu. 


Grass- 

59     hopper, 

chuvg. 


CO       ^}^S^' 
man. 


gj      Corpse, 
shih. 


Feathers, 
62     stripes, 
ghan. 


63  '^°^y' 

Jei. 


King- 
64      fiither, 
ts'ui. 


Folded 
65      hands, 
ch'a. 


Eight 
66      hand, 
yu. 


Left 
67       )iand. 


Friend, 
yu. 


Compan- 
69        ion, 


■i        Seal 

Modern         g  F„rm, 

Form.         -a  a.   D. 
W         100. 


Older  Forms. 


70 


Crowd, 
chung. 


m 


9 


P 


^ 


^ 


P 
f 


k 


;t 


k 


m 


^ 


? 


^ 


l^}% 


p 


'^ 


^% 


f 


a 


pL 


>1 


i 


^^ 


? 


^ 


4 


^ 

s 


^ 


i 


3^ 


AW 


^^ 


f$\ 


1{  A  ^i^^kf- 


^  ^ 


*lt^*#^,^ 


^  ^  a: 


H^l 


^^ 


ti^^ 


!^/l  ^f/^ 


^  ^\  ^i  ^  -^ 


^S« 


^1 1  ^  T  ?i?ia 


Probable 
Original. 


^ 


^ 


nnn 


(•)0 


z^ 


^ 


p) 


^ 


^ 


Remarks. 


Closely  allied  to  No.  11. 


Cy.  No.  66. 


"Multitude"      (now     con- 
tracted) and  "insects." 


Shuo  wen  :  "Eggs  of  all 
oviparous  creatures."  Also 
means  "testicles." 


Sign  for  man  recumbent. 
( Now  44lh  radical  of  an  in- 
congruous group. ) 


Sign  suggesting  feathers. 
Used  only  in  combination. 
Of.  No.  40. 


Bird  flying. 


^^  Descriptive    sign    from 

^^         "feathers"  and   "cloak"  re- 


^^ 


M 


ferring  to  plumage. 


Hands  clasped. 


Originally  game  as  No.  58, 
with  No.  34  added. 


Sign  for  "labor"  has  been 
added  to  this. 


Hands  extended  in  friendly 

greeting. 


Shuo  Wen:  "Phoenix." 
Probably  a  pair  of  birds, 
though   many  consider  it  one 

only. 


"  Tliree  men,"  to  wliich  an 
obscure  sign  was  added. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  VI. 


■,,       •  —  Seal 

Meaning  ^^^^       j  p^^^^ 

c^"".  Form.         "^  A.  D. 

Sound.  «  j(,0. 


Older  Forms. 


yj    Sun,  day, 


Moon, 
72     month, 
yiie. 


73 


Stars, 
hsing. 


y^    Morning, 
(an. 


76 


76 


77 


80 


81 


82 


83 


84 


Crystal, 
eking. 


Spring, 
ch  'un. 


Bright, 
ming. 


Heaven, 

sky, 
t'ien. 


♦Eartli, 
(as  pro- 
ducer), 

a. 

E.irth, 

soil, 

ground, 

t'u. 


Fire, 
huo. 


Metal, 

kin. 


Burn, 
fen. 


Water, 

shui. 


\-3 

^1. 


a 


m 


^ 


i4 


± 


X 


t 


ii 


^ 


a 

>1 
a 

a 


g 


:t 


K 


t 


X 


>k 


e 

8 

e 
68 

t 


©f 


S 


i^ 


± 


t 


n 
^ 


9  0-<J)-  o  Oo 


o 


u%%t'%'^^ 


#  #  ®7  ©)  @^  ©I 


glraiSlJi^^'^l: 


ifc  ^  iS  ^  I  * 


4;±±iix 


^A^  'X  i  >A< 


Probable 
Original. 


0 

O 

o  o 
0 


o 

00 

O 


i 


if 


/\A>. 


±.  -±  ^  Ik 


f»t    XX    )>,(   iji,^ 


'.•i.  «i  ^Je  f  M  ^ 


J_ 


^ 


il2  ^ 


Remarlcs. 


Sun,    witli    possibly  a  sun- 
spot.    Coinoides  with  Egyptian 

o,o. 


"Crescent."     Qf.  No.  131. 


Three    stars,    to    whicli    a 
phonetic  has  been  added. 


Sun  just  above  the  horizon. 


Triple    sun,    as    when     re- 
fracted by  a  prism. 


Sprouts  and  buds  started  by 
the  sun. 


Moon-lit  window   (or)   sun 
and  moon. 

Probably  of  double  origin. 


A  sign  of  obscure  meaning, 
but  probably  symbolic  of  deity. 


"Eartb"  i,  and  "^  sym- 
bol of  "female  principle." 
Mother-earth. 


Supposed    to    te    a    sprout 
springing  out  of  tlie  ground. 


Rising  flames. 


Crucibles  covered,  or  intense 
heat  covered,' as  in  smelting. 


Trees  burning.  Two  last 
are  variants  being  "fire"  with 
plionetics. 


Ripples    on    water.      Coin- 
cides with  Egyptian  :;xO!!.- 


Chinese  Ideographs. 
*The  three  last  forms  are  variants  based  on  "earth,"  "hill,"  and  "water,"  of  obvious  significance. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  VII. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


85 


86 


River, 
ch'uan. 


Ice, 
pivrj. 


Water 

87      spring, 

ch'uan. 


Pool, 

88       abj'ss, 

yikm. 


89 


Rain, 
yil. 


90      Cloud, 
yiin. 


q,  TIninder, 
lei,  lui. 


Light- 

92      ning.* 

den 


93 


Hill, 
ahan. 


Natural 
94     mound, 


95 


ClitT, 
har{. 


Stone, 
96        rock, 

nil  ill. 


Tree, 
97       wood, 
mu. 


98 


Or 


lln. 


— 

Seal 

Modern 

s 

Form 

Form. 

■a 

A.  I). 

M 

100. 

Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Original. 


^ 


vi7 


in 


1^ 


\-n 


d^ 


A 


r 


^ 


^ 


4i 


;ii 


^li 


>X 


>K 


^ij 


iS^ 


ijfj 


tU 


r 


* 


i 


I 


^ 


« 


I 


Si 


IF 


e« 


i!J 


M 


r 


/5 


S^ 


I 


^K 


^1 


^ 


ft  ^  *  1 


^ 


ft)  •  ))|((  ®  diD  # 


yi\  (i^fi  M 


/^lltlfilt^ 


^-^ 


f 


A)  ®  *  |i 


^  \^  ^ik^ifli 


IT  or  -^  >^ 


/f 


/v     /f 


^  t^  ;ii 


W  n^i^-^ 


({K 


^ 


o 


';i' 


»  »  ' 
•  «  • 


^ 


^,^ 


jAi 


^ 


P^ 


t 


tl- 


Remarks. 


Rivulet." 

Stream   thirty   miles 
long. 

<{^  "River." 


Cracks  or  wrinkles  in  ice. 


Water  issuing  from  a  pool 
or  vent. 


Picture  of  a  pool,  to  which 
the  nater  radical  has  been 
added. 


Rain  drops  under  arch  of 
heaven  modified  to  resemble 
^  "sky." 


Wavy  clouds  with  sign  S-. 
"above,"  altered  to  |^ "rain." 


Symbolic  of  reverberation 
of  thunder,  ijam  radical  was 
added  later. 


Thunderbolt,  to  which 
'  rain  "  has  been  added. 


Three  peaks.     Cf.  Egyptian 
^  (a  coincidence). 


Eminence     smaller    than 
'hill."     (Cf.  No.  93.) 


Shuo  WCn  :  "  Rock  on  a 
hill  under  which  men  may 
dwell." 


Perhaps  r^K;k-8trata,or^fone 
falling  from  a  cliff. 


Shuo  Wen:  "From  ^f*  plant 
with  roots  below.  Symbol  for 
all  wowlen  things." 


Interlaced    branches,    sim- 
plified into  "two  trees." 


ClIINKSE    TdEOGUAPH.S. 
*  This  is  also  the  original  of  ^^  ahen  "deity."      After   much  research    I   am  inclined  to  consider  these  as  depicting   lightning,  which 
became  the  sign  for  "deity"  from  superstitious  dread  of  lightning.      Later  Iho  radicals  ^  and  lifg  were  respectively  adiled  to  distinguish  the 
two  meanings. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol  IV 


Plate  VIII. 


Meaning         Modern 
and  Form. 

Sound. 


99 


Flowers, 
p'i. 


Outer 
liu.sk  of 

100  grass  or 

grain, 

*  Thrifty 

101  growth, 

p'o. 


,„t,  Diflicult, 
cimn. 


103   ^llf- 


Grass, 
104    leaves, 
te'ao. 


105 


Flower, 

hua. 


Flower, 
106     glory, 
huu. 


tTo 

107     issue, 

ch'u. 


t  Source, 
108       of^ 

ihih. 


To  pro- 
log tllice,  to 


bear, 

sh&ng. 


110  '''^/;;'^°P' 


Straight, 
111     exact, 
eh&ng. 


Luxuri- 
112      ant, 


-:        Ssiil 

o  Form, 

^  A.  D. 
K         100. 


Older  Forms 


u 


i 


\. 


tk 


^ 


':H 


n 


-f-L 


4.t- 


^ 


^ 


± 


± 


IE 


i 


i 


^ 


'h 


^ 


+/- 


+f 


+/■ 


M 


ill) 


A 


% 


4 


^ 


H-ll^ 


y.**' 


T 


1(6 


\l 


1 


\l 


CE 


$ 


m 


^    f   ^ 


^^  n 


i  $  t  #  t^ 


AlA 


V-  /%IA  U/IW        Al'^ 

/     T    ^  T 


^"^^  ^  i 


IXi  ^iL  ^i  ^ 


1 ^111^ 


iH  L^  oJ:: 


J  1  2  Z  JiJi 


^ 


Probable 
Original. 


Ti 


)t 


■t 


y 


H-y 


f 


± 


:li 


t 


^ 


^ 


^ 


Bemarks. 


SbiioWen:  "General  terra 
for  Howers." 


From  Vp  "grass"  and  sign 
for  husks  peeled  off". 


Obsolete,  except  in  combi- 
nation. 


ShuoWen:  "Difficult,  like 
a  sprout  forcing  its  way 
through  the  ground." 


Used  only  in  combination. 
( ieneral  sign  for  plants. 


Later  enlarged  to  S  (^)^  by 
adding  a  phonetic. 


Picture  of  a  flower,  con- 
tracted to  ■\)'  and  phonetic 
4-C  added.     Cf.  No.  106. 


A  gorgeous  flower.  Closely 
allied  to  No.  105,  but  consid- 
ered a  separate  primitive  by 
Shuo  Wen. 


A  sprout  further  developed 
than  Nos.  107  and  108,  as 
having  reached  maturity. 


Sprout  impeded  in  its 
growth,  hence  "stop."  An- 
alogous to  Nos.  107  and  108. 


Perhaps  from  "sprout" 
and  "upward."  Normal 
growth.     See  No.  287. 


A   thrifty  plant.     Related 
to  No.  109. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*  Resembles  No.  100,  but  Shuo  WOn  considers  it  of  separate  origin. 

t  These  two  symbols  had  a  common  origin.     No.  107  has  retained  its  original  sense,  viz.,  "  to  si)rout,"  "issue."     No.  108  has  become  a  pos- 
sessive sign  like  "  of,"  derived  from  tlie  idea  "  source."     Both  were  originally  "a  sprout  ffpip  Ml?  ground." 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol,  IV. 


Plate  IX 


■.,       .  _:        Seal 

Tnd  Modern       J  Form, 

o'      J  Form.         "2  A.  D. 

Sound.  ^        jQ(, 


Older  Forms. 


113 


Herb.s, 
hui. 


Luxnri- 
114      ant, 

yiny. 


Jungle, 
115     rude, 
mang. 


lie      Leek.s, 
lib       1 ■       ' 
kiu. 


, , ..  Bamboo, 
chu. 


Growing 
118    crops, 
Ao. 


Growing 
rice  or 
liy    millet, 
level, 

chH. 

Fruit, 
120    result, 
kao. 


121 


1-.2 


East, 
luTiy. 


West, 
hni. 


123 


124 


Land- 
mark, 
indicator, 
pkio. 

Shelled 

rice  or 

millet, 

mi. 


125 


Thorn, 
te't. 


Buck- 
thorn, or 
126    jujube 
tree, 
tsao. 


^ 


■^ 
^ 


0 


^ 


^ 


t 


i 


i5; 


4 


* 


k 


+ 


-\f 


-^^ 


^ 


^;t 


I. 


i 


i 


vT) 


*. 


* 


* 


t 


* 


:^ 


I 


^ 


ft 


t 


* 


tTr 


Ylf     v>      tt 


%   1 


rhrh    4"1^ 


>^  4 


5^  1^  t  ^  sfi  tt^ 


t^tttt^^lM?? 


I  S  ^^  I  I 


^  6  (^  ^ 


E. 


^  ^  isv  fv 


f  -H^  i^  •:.•:• 


/^  ^-* 


^  :*: 


Probable 
Original. 


jffy 


^A" 


^5r 


1 


^^ 


rl 


?!? 


TL 


•    •  • 


* 


* 

* 


Remarks. 


General  term  for  "herbs." 
No  distinguishing  feature. 


Allied  to  No.  115,  q.  v. 


"Plants"  and  "large"  re- 
peated, modified  to  j^  "dog." 


Picture  of  growing  leeks. 


Pendent  bamboo  leaves. 


One  or  more  stalks  of  grain, 
with  head  and  leaves. 


Kow  of  grain  stalks  with 
ripe  heads.  "  Level,"  from 
even  height  of  grain. 


Shuo  Wen:  "Depicts  fruit 
on  a  tree." 


Sun  rising  behind  a  tree. 


Shuo  Wen:  "Bird  on  nest 
at  sunset."  Not  related  to  its 
radical  r^. 


Clump  of  mulberry  or  other 
bushes  to  mark  bounds  of  a 
field. 


Depicts  shelled  grain.     (Not 
used  of  growing  grain. ) 


Thorns  >— <  on  a  tree. 


Thorn  duplicated. 


'  Shuo  W6n  puns  on  this 


Chinese  Ideograths. 
"A  vegetable  of  pefennial  (kiu)  growth,  hence  called  '  kiu.'     The  forifl  of  the  plant  above  the  ground." 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV, 


Plate  X. 


Meaning 

ant) 
Sonnd. 


,„„  Chestnut, 
'^'        It. 


Mulberry 
128      tree, 
sang. 


_•         Seal 

Modern      .u  Form, 

Form.        "p  A.    D. 

«         100. 


Older  Forms. 


129 


130 


Year, 


Season, 
ki. 


131  Evening, 
A, SI. 


Sliell, 
132    value, 
pel. 


*  Salt 
133        ,u. 


134  Silk,  mi. 


Silk 
135   thread, 
si'. 


iQR    Vapor, 


joiT    Steam, 
k'i. 


Signal, 

138    ticket, 

p'iao. 


jggt  Mirage, 

k  ao. 


Light, 

140     flame, 

kuantj. 


\?7 


4 


5^ 


H 


li 


n. 


\1? 

7B 


■^ 


<f^ 


i 


IT 


t 


I* 


4 


1 


^ 


;l 


? 


^ 


^ 


/tN 


^ 
Z& 


1 


t 


9> 
0\ 


t: 


^S^i^?^t 


mnn 


^  )  5 


'i^^u^^ 


a  ^  § 


n  n 


i  ^  '^  9^^  M 


r  T 


1!f  f  f!^ilft 


Probable 
Original. 


^ 


* 
f 


i. 
f 


]) 


i 


n 


~^ 


©^ 

'-^M 


m 
^ 


T 


t 


Remarks. 


Chestnut  burs  on  a  tree. 
( Not  related  to  its  radical. ) 


Shuo  Wi*n  :  "The  tree 
whose  leaves  silkworms  eat." 
Leaves  on  a  tree. 


These  two  signs  are 
closely  related,  but  are  ob- 
scure in  origin. 

No.  129  mav  be  "crops" 
and  "thousand."  No.  130 
may  be  "crops"  and  "son." 


New  moon  at  evening.     Cf. 
No.  72. 


Bivalve  shell. 

Shuo  Wdn  :  "  Picture  of  a 
sea  shell.  .  .  .  "Ancients  ex- 
changed shells  as  money." 


F^arth-basins  for  evaporat- 
ing salt. 


Twist  of  silk,  or  possibly 
the  larva  of  silk  cocoon  fa- 
miliar to  the  ancient  Chinese. 


Derived  from  No.  134. 


Sign    suggesting     rising 
vapor. 


Sleam  from  fire  !)^,  or  mist 
from  sun  Q. 


Smoke  above  "  fire."  .'An- 
cient method  of  signalling  in 
China. 


Undulating  air. 


"Man  "  bearing  "torch." 
(Variants  show  other  roots 
containing  "sun"  and  "fire."  ) 


Chinese  Ideographs. 
•Chinese  obtain  salt  by  evaporation  from  large,  square,  shallow  pools  upon  the  alkali  plains.     This  sign  is  either  a  picture  of  such  pools 
or  basins,  or  possibly  suggests  a  field  with  patches  of  alkali.     A  more  complex  symbol  is  now  used  instead  of  this, 
t  Shuo  WCn  :    "Rising  air  tending  to  expand,  bitt  obstructed  as  it  curls  upward." 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XI. 


_J  egg] 

Meaning         mi              «  t;- 

.  "         Modern        o  J'orm, 

a       A             Form.         ^  A.  D. 

Sound.                               ^  j(jO. 


Older  Forms. 


141 


Roof, 


Enclos- 
142      ure, 
wei. 


^ 


a 


143 


Shed, 

yen,. 


,..    Palace, 
144      ,         ' 

kuvg. 


145 


Window, 
kiuny. 


146 


Park, 

yu. 


147  Pf  ^'y- 

nuan. 


j^g    Prison, 
yil. 


Map, 
149      seal. 


150 


Treasury, 
store- 
house, 

/t'u. 


151  Kitchen, 
cA  It. 


Well, 
152    cistern, 
ching. 


Bricls- 

153      wall, 

yiian. 


1.54    ^^^' 
en  uang. 


r 


a 


t 


t 


-J— 


m 


^ 


iS3 


^ 


a 


□ 


□ 


a 


□ 


r 


t 


^ 


n 


0 


r 


© 


* 


44 


li 


X 


n  n  p^n 


W    D 


r 


is^  i^a  tl  [^ 


©  g  © ®r^ 


5< 

1 


Jm    ff 


^  ^  w  ^ 


i?  i^  ±B  il 


a  :l 


:r-i 


Probable 
Original. 


n 


n 


r 


f^ 


t 


1^ 


ir-^ 


Remarks. 


A    house.     (Used    only   in 
combination. ) 


Now  written  [^  with  pho- 
netic added. 


Buihling  open  on  one  side. 


Hall  with  steps  (or)  throne. 
(Not  "two  mouths"  under 
"roof,"  as  usually  defined.) 


Latticed  window  of   varied 
design. 


"Field"  full  of  "trees." 
Now  altered,  with  ^  yu  as 
phonetic. 


Shuo  W6n  :   "  Picture  of  a 
pig  in  a  pen." 


Shuo  Wen:  "  Pri.son.     En- 
closure for  criminals." 

(Shows  cells  and  corridor.) 


Sign   suggesting  a   map  or 
diagram. 

(Embodies  No.  338.) 


"Cart"  under  a  "shed." 


"Dish"  and  other  objects, 
with  "hand"  undera  "shed." 


Well  with  curb. 


Layers  of  brick,  with  "clay" 
i.  added,  to  suggest  the  ma- 
terial. 


Shuo  Wfn  considers  this  a 
contraction  of  }(;};.,  but  it  is 
rather  the  original  form. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol,  IV. 


Plate  XII. 


.  — ■  Seal 

Meaning  Modern       §  Form, 

and  Form.        ^  A.  D. 

Sound.  ^  100 


Older  Forms. 


155 


Dish, 


Stemmed 
156     dish, 
tou. 


Sacrificial 
157    vessel, 
H. 


Wine  jar, 
158  pottery, 

fou. 


Willow 
159    basket, 


160   Dipper, 

tou. 


m. 


* 


161 


Spoon, 


^ooCover,  lid, 
I'o. 


163 


'Fork, 
ya. 


164    ^""«' 
ffto. 


165      Ne'' 
wamj. 


166    ^^°?^> 


167 


tCap, 


168     ^>"' 

tvng. 


^ 


m. 


o 


A 


Ia 


^ 


J 


77 


R 


-iX- 


)=/ 


J 


M 


^ 


;?? 


Vxx) 


*. 


n 


W 


2 


^ 


O 


n 


A 


* 


^ 


PI 


'OA 


Fl 


z;^ 


y>   ^  21^ 


1 


Hi 


1 1  w 


£t  ©  ®  © 


B^)H\^^ 


K  K 


/\ 


r^ 


Y 


S  ) 


R  /ii  ©  fA\ 


^  ^  ^ 


tt  t  T  =?  °° 


Probable 
Original. 


'T 


^ 


^(?) 


rS 


Y 


l> 


^ 


fs\ 


Jo 


Remarks. 


A  common  ancient  dish  was 
shaped  thus  T. 


Actual  form  of  the  vessel  as 
seen  in  an  exhumed  specimen. 


Vessel  with  viands  or  flow- 
ers.    Cf.  No.  156. 


Wine  jar  with  sealed  lid 
secured  by  cords  (as  now  in 
China). 


Shuo  Wen  :    "Picture  of  a 
willow  cooking  vessel." 

(Distinguish  from  LJ  k'an.) 


Now  used  to  designate  "  peck 
measure."  Of.  No.  188.  Orig- 
inally a  dipper. 


Rude  outline  of  a  spoon. 


Used  only  in  combination. 


^  "wood"  was  added  and 
again  discarded. 


A  knife  blade. 


Meshes  of  a  net.     Later  x!3 
was  added  as  phonetic. 


Suggests  a  draped  garment. 


Side  view,  or  head,  of  nail. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 
*Now  used  for  "slave  girl"  by  a  lewd  metonomy. 
fShuo  W6n  :  "Small  cap.     Headgear  of  the  aborigines. "     Now  supplanted  by  ittS  "raao,"  a  later  mechanical  form. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol  IV, 


Plate  XIII 


tjonnfl  Form.         '■%       A.  D. 

Sound.  «         jQQ_ 


Older  Forms. 


Door, 

169     gate, 

men. 


Ship, 
170     boat, 

cliou. 


,j^  To  cook, 
ts'uan. 


jy^  Wine  jar, 

yu. 


173 


Alcohol, 

chiu. 


Broom, 
174    sweep, 
chou. 


jyc  Kerchief, 
kin. 


j-o'Curtain, 


i7~  Market, 
shih. 


n 


4 


ii 


^® 


r 


178 


Woven 

stuffs, 

to  difluse, 

pu. 


Reed 
179      mat, 

(St. 


Enibroid- 
180      ery, 
chill. 


Small 
181     table, 

ki. 


Recep- 
182     tacle, 

fang. 


't^ 


n 


4 


:H 


?^ 


i 


t 


'I' 


r-7 


^ 


^ 


W 


C 


t 


+ 


+*• 


Ml* 


a 


I 


fl\ 


n 


fti 


1^ 


fm 


n 


L-  c 


^i  f1  H  M  N 


^  :0S  c::i.-^ 


i  (il  fil  *i  i 


@# 


^t 


@  ?  Si  i 


ttllt 


^ 


^fi    ^  )fl     i^l    f 


^  /M  ^  ^-  f  ilv 


i\  ^^  s  W  H 


rR    ^ 


0  ^7  n 


&=  3  g 


Probable 
Original. 


^El 


^ 


e^9 


t^ 


T 


n 


ill 


M 


i!) 


^ 


3? 


TT.n 


Remarks. 


Two-leaved  door  with  bolts 
ind  turning  posts  as  now  in 
China. 


Either  a  sliip  with  sail,  or 
deck  of  boat  showing  compart- 
ments. 


Cooking  outfit. 


A   kind  of  amphora.     This 
is  now  an  horary  sign. 


Jar  containing  alcohol 
(clear  liquor)  signified  by  r^ 
''water." 


Hand  grasping  broom.  ( Not 
related  to  its  radical. ) 


Anciently,  a  cap  or  turban 
ivorn  by  aged  persons. 


Supposed  to  be  a  table  cover. 
'Jsed  only  in  combination. 


Perhaps  from  "curtain" 
md  '"wood";  a  booth,  as  now 
n  Chinese  markets. 


Suggests  interlaced  threads. 
Jriginally  applied  to  silk. 


Suggests  plaited  work.   Now 
m  adverb  "how,"  "now." 


Embroidered  design. 


Table     with       straight    or 
curved  legs. 


An   obscure  form  allied   to 
j^  "square"  and  I^I  "coffer." 


Chinese  Ideogkaphs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XIV. 


Meaning        Modern 

„''"^,  Form, 

bound. 


o  Form, 
'■%  A.  D. 
«         100. 


Older  Forms. 


Corn- 
183      fan, 
ki. 


184    ^i?'*'- 


18.5     ™'' 
rang. 


Portico, 
■  186  pavilion, 

t'imfi. 


187 


Granary, 

txUiiig. 


188      r'int, 


Corn- 
189      fan, 
pfin. 


Um- 
190    brella, 

mn. 


,ni  Window, 

hu. 


192    """''' 
chue. 


,no  Mound, 

foil. 


194 


Cave, 


195  Window, 

eh'uang. 


Tile, 
196  pottery, 

m. 


m 


t 


t 


^ 


* 


^ 


J 


'/^ 


P 


5l 


/t> 


VI7 


A 


+ 


+ 


A 


P 


•.-^ 


« 

'7? 


51 


/K/K 


7\ 


ffl 


B 


^ 
^ 


/O 


f; 


? 


f 


4 


fe*  W  Y9^  t  is) 

K     TT     r^    ip^    y-^ 


©  ®  S  ffl 


i  fi  i  t  #  * 


^ 

)i"l 


1^$;?; 


1      i    15     ^     ^ 


^^ 


^ 


?f 


F  i?  /  J?  I  fi 


n 


^9 


ik^i 


n 


fj^  Q  ^<s>(ffl) 


^?  ^  §  H 


Probable 
Original. 


ffl 


;% 


^ 


^ 


|3 


J 


n 


w^^/^ 


Remarks. 


Winnowing  basket  held  in 
bands,  as  to-day  in  (:hina. 
Bamboo  radical  has  been 
added. 


Land  subdivided. 


ShuoWfin:  "Palace."    An 
imposing  edifice. 


Artistic  pavilion  on  pillars, 
(as  now  in  China). 


Large    round    wicker    bins 
under  roof,  (as  now  in  China). 


A  measure  holding  12,000 
grains  of  millet.  Of.  No.  160. 
Old  exhumed  shcng  :  Q->. 


Depicts    the    implement. 
Closely  allied  to  No.  183. 


Depicts    an    umbrella  with 
ribs  or  decorations. 


Half  of  "door."  (See  No. 
1 69 ) .  Variants  have  "  wood ' ' 
added. 


Form  of  Chinese  fish-hook. 


Incongruous    symbol    for 
piled  earth. 


Depicts  mouth  of  cave. 


Latticed   window.      Origin- 
iiUy  same  as  No.  14.'). 


Perhaps  overlapped  tiles. 
Shuo  Won:  "(leneral  name 
for  kiln-burned  ware." 


Chine.se  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XV. 


„       .  -  Seal 

MeniimK  Modern        S  Form, 

anil  P'orm.         ^  A.   I). 

Sound.  r^  100. 


Older  Forms. 


197  Tliongs, 


198 


*  Liito, 
k'iii. 


jggt  Organ, 
hxuio. 


Grain- 
200   mortar, 
kiu. 


201 


Kiln, 
ku. 


Writing 
202    brush, 
yu. 


203To*rite, 

cmn. 


P:iper 
204     kite, 
yiinn. 


Axe, 

20.5      adz, 

kin 


Cart, 

206  chariot, 

ch'c. 

Span  of 
horses, 

207  ride, 
sheiiff, 
ch'ing. 


2Qgt  Turban, 
pien. 


i  Seal, 
209     knot, 
chie. 


210  "T"  ^'''•'' 
yin. 


3^ 

7 


^ 


<3 


i^ 


t 


,hTJ 


/f 


^ 


P 


ep 


t 


£ 


>x 


t3 


>='? 


M 
^ 


e 


t^ 


t 


t 


i 


'f 


;ft 


P 


t 


o 


®ti^'t?f 


U  o 


^/ 


©a  \g/lH/ 


t 


Pc 


M 


I   It 


frJ'/J  f/frV 


CD 


^ 


^ 


Af 

^ 


I  m  1 


-I-       ®  (D® 


^^#tt^ 


R  1^^ 


^^^4 


M?^ 


fTT  (f^. 


^  ^  %  ^^  ^x 


Probable 
Original. 


)sr( 


^ 


r 


^T 


^(^ 


^ 


<<', 


5i\ 


Remarks. 


Knotted  thongs.    ShuoWen: 
"  Leather  .straps." 


Lute  with  b  or  7  strings. 


Mouth-organ  with  16  or  23 
pipes. 


ShuoWSn:  "  At  first  a  hole 
in  the  ground  ;  later,  hollow 
wood  and  stone.  Form  of  the 
vessel  with  grain  inside." 


Obsolete  symbol.  Depicts 
compartmentsof  a  kiln.  (Ex- 
act origin  is  disputed.) 


Chinese  pen  or  brush  held  in 
the  hand.     Cf.  No.  174. 


Pen     making     marks.     De- 
rived from  No.  202. 
ShuoWcn:  "Penmanship." 


Bird-shaped  kite  peculiar  to 
China. 


Shuo     Wen:        "To    chop 
wood."     It  may  depict  chips. 


Cart   with   shaft   for  horses 
tthreaal,  as  anciently  in  China. 


Derived  from  206. 


Shuo  Wf n  :  "  Chou  dynasty 
crown,  (Slled  piVn." 


Hand  (claw)  affixing  a  seal. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*  Form  of  the  lute.     Lower  part  was  modified  to  -^  "  metal  "  as  phonetic,  which  has  been  contracted  to  '^  kin. 

t  Originally  the  form  of  the  instrument,  surviving  in  lower  part  of  the  modern  symbol.  To  this  "hand"  and  "bamboo"  were  added. 
The  variant  is  xj  which  has  "bamboo  "  and  a  phonetic  "  hsiao." 

tThe  ornaments  below  the  turban  .seem  to  have  been  altered  to  f''\  "bands." 

I  P  Chie  "  knot  "  is  closely  allied  to  thi.s.  Shuo  Wt'n  defines  it  as  "Scaling  knot,"  referring  to  the  ancient  custom  of  n.sing  clay  seals  and 
cords.     I  suspect  this  depicts  a  seal  of  tliat  sort  rather  tlian  a  signet  of  metal. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV, 


Plate  XVI 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


211 


I?ow, 
kuny. 


2J2   Arrow, 

shih. 


2^3  Halberd, 

kuo. 


Battle 
214     axe, 
wu,  irwu. 


2J5T0  guard, 

SHU. 


216 


•Shield, 
kan. 


tSpear, 
217    lance, 


21a  Helmet, 
tou. 


219 


To  draw 

a  bow, 

lead, 

yin. 


Three- 

220  P''°"g'^'l 
balberd, 
niao. 


222  Military, 


222 


Warn, 
ktai. 


223  JArmy, 
kiun. 


Soldier, 
2r4  weapons, 
ping. 


. 

Seal 

Modern 

g 

Form, 

Form. 

-0 

A.   D. 

100. 

Older  Forms. 


^ 


^ 


\ 


A 


A 


f 


\ 


? 


^ 


^ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


?! 


f 


'A 


ik 


\ 


)i 


? 


f 


* 


rt 


i- 


¥ 


1  §  u 


itn 


^  il'i  til 


k 


?i 


< 


/v 


^ 


^4 


4 


^^ 


>i'iM  1 


i  ^t  f /I  .:^  1i  ^ 


¥+T?Tf 


t 


^ 


6 


til  « n^ 


i)  $  J 


«l  Tj;  a  4 


u-^ M  ^  ^^ 


^(^^t}i;;<^^ 


-2^  ^  ^  /i^ 

v^  tT  /y«    '^ 


^Ta  IW 


Probable 
Original. 


^ 


t 


t- 


f 


^^ 


1^ 


1 


A 


«; 


-$ 


^ 


11 


1^?^ 


Remarks. 


Bow,  with  or  without  string. 


Feathered  arrow. 


Ancient  broDze-hallierd- 
heads,  exhumed  in  China, 
show  hole  for  tassel. 


This  symbol  is  now  used  as 
an  horary  sign. 


Soldier  (man)witL  halberd. 


(ieneral  term  for  weapoas. 


"Man"  with  head  in  hel- 
met. Also  means  "pocket," 
"keep." 


Bow  and  man,  or  hand  and 
bow. 


Halberd   or  lance   15    feet 
long,  used  by  charioteers. 


"Halberd"  and  "stop." 
Shuo  Wen:  "To  lock  hal- 
berds is  wu." 


Shuo  WOn  :  "  Two   hands 
grasping  halberd.     Warn." 


Chariot  in  camp. 


"Man"  with  "spear"  in 
"liands,"  or  "hands'  gra.sp- 
ing  "axe." 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*  In  some  connections  this  means  "spear."  The  traditional  shape  of  ancient  shield  is  ^  the  frame  coinciding  with  -P.  I  suspect  that 
the  symbol  also  depicts  a  two-pronged  spear. 

t  By  analogy  with  No.  213,  this  sh  ijld  depict  a  laiica  without  hand  guard.  It  now  means  "arrow"  and  "shoot,"  and  appears  only  in 
combination. 

i  The  six  last  forms  are  two  variants  in  groups  of  three  fqrm^  e^ch,     The  first  is  "  people"  in  "  camp."     Thj  .second  is  of  obscure  origin. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol,  iv 


Plate  XVII. 


^^"\"^         Moder,.        t       Fo?m, 

«""",  Form.         -a       A.  D. 

Sound.  ^         jQO_ 


Older  Forms. 


To  slioot 
225   arrows, 

sha. 


Target, 
226  Marquis, 
ftou. 


227  Destroy, 

fa. 


228  Frontier, 
kmnff. 


Troops, 
229  traveller, 
iii. 


Flag, 
230   banner, 

k'i. 


23J    Camp, 
ying. 


% 


# 


^i 


ra 


232 


*  Shield, 
tuM,  ahun. 


oQo  Emperor, 
huang. 


234     K'"g' 
waug. 


Rank, 
235     class, 
pan. 


t  Cora- 
236    plete, 

I'ing. 


237 


Officer, 

Sir, 
scholar, 

shih. 


Chief, 
238     great, 
kii. 


i 


A 


A 


n 


/^ 


•x-x 


•^ 


i 


vi7 


± 


i)£ 


i 


^7 


>^ 


I 


/If 


[^ 


)^^ 


'AA 


i 


^ 


5 


i 


i 


VH^4-f  ^4^ 


g  H^^flil^iCt 


;^  If  M  1;^  (]> 


H  M  /-I  iM 


t^    t^i?  Ivf   IhhI 


t?N  TP  tF  :fei  TV 


111  l#^  1^  /si 


f^i 


f 


d  /t\ 


tl 


50        « 


^1^  ^^  ^ 

±    2C   <E.   3E.    i 


ii^S  J 


i)i  i;|I  i;|i 


i    ^?l 


i  7^1  ±1  ^ 


i  1 1 1  £ 


Probable 
Original. 


4 


rA 


at 


R 


fe 


V 


ffl 


(?) 


<^ 


I 


i}i 


iA 


i 


^a) 


Semarks. 


"JIand"  drawing  a  "  bow  " 
gradually  changed  to  "body" 
and  "inch." 


Perhaps  "arrow"  hitting 
target,  to  which  "man"  was 
added. 


"Man"     and    "halberd." 
Same  root  as  No.  215. 


"Camp"  or  "guard-house," 
suggesting  frontier. 


"Men"  marching  under  a 
"  banner." 


Depicts  floating  banner  with 
"  axe  "  beneatli.  (Significance 
of  "axe"  obscure. ) 


"Fire"  and  "camp,"  with 

tents  (?). 


Symbol    of    protection    for 

'eyes." 


From  "self"  and  "king," 
'self  ruler,"  "sole  ruler." 


Possibly  a  string  of  jade 
beads,  still  worn  in  China  as 
sign  of  authority. 


"Knife"  and  two  "jade" 
objects.  Refers  to  buttons 
worn  to  distingjuish  rank. 


"Officer"    (No.    237)   and 


Origin     obscure.      Perhaps 
allied  to  ^  "great." 


Origin    obscure.      Suggests 
No.  239. 


Chinese  Ideogkaphs. 
*Shuo  W6n  :  "  Shield.     Likeness  of  that  with  which  one  protects  the  body  and  eyes."     The  resemblance  to  a  shield  is  not  clear, 
t By  some  chance  this  has  been  classed  by  Chinese  lexicography^?  ijnder  jt.  "earth "  instead  of  under  ^  "officer." 


•"9? 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XVII I. 


^^""j"?        Modern 
and  j~. 

Sound.  '^"™- 


*  Prime 
239  Minister, 
ch'en. 


240 


241 


242 


Lord, 
dm. 

Father, 
fu. 

Retainer, 
to  con- 
trol, 
si'. 


Ruler, 
243    queen, 
hou. 


244   Master, 
fu. 


245  '^"  r"ie. 

ym. 


Scribe, 
24G  history, 
sliih. 


t  List, 
247   record, 
ch'ei. 


248 


I  Law, 
cata- 
logue, 

tien. 


249 


City  (as 
an  official 

seat). 


City  ( as  a 
250  fortress), 
ch'&ng. 


Capi  tal 
251      City, 
king. 


?  Court 


252 


^  Seal 

§  F"orm, 

^  A.  D. 

M  100. 


Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Original. 


± 


X 


5] 


E 


% 


^ 


k 


f 


i 


m 


e 


i-k 


?^ 


city  gate, 
kuo. 


de       or? 

0.      rfy 


V3 


i 


^ 


a 


^ 


p 


n 


/\. 


p 


i 


5l 


^ 


fl 


^ 


Wtl 


T 


O 


iifl 


t 


ro>o 
©■p 


^B^^^\i 


19,  /^  ^  4  /  1^  f^ 


|^t4f^?^l^ 


/^  f5 


i^t/^A^^  *,^ 


f  Ai^ 


t^^^^^t^^ 


4tttt  tt^  f  tttt 


(?) 


K 


f«^ 


A 


ik 


4tW> 


-^m  t^  ^  )^ 


O      b     O     V,OiK50 


4  ^  ft  $4  ^: 


•^  -^   :^ 

)H  ¥  "s: 


■  ■  I  ■  I 

qTiTp 

I  I  ^  •  I 

7"^ 


a 


^4 


^ 
^ 


Remarks. 


Resembles  No.  31  and  No. 
2.S8.  Possibly  depicts  some 
insignia  of  office. 


Supposed  to  be  a  burning 
lamp,  hence  "lord"  by  me- 
tonomy.     Suggests  No.  234. 


"Hand"  holding  "rod"  or 
"scepter."  Master  of  iaraily 
or  class. 


Seems  to  be  from    "bind' 


and     summon 


Reverse  of  No.  242.     Per- 
liaps  "summon." 


"Great"  and  "man,"  or 
"great"  doubled,  i.  e.,  "very 
great." 


"  Iland  "     holding    "scep- 
ter."    Like  No.  241. 


"  Hand"  holding  a  "sty- 
lu-i."  See  Fig.  1.  (Ancient 
stylus  had  ring  at  end. ) 


Bamboo  "records"   upon  a 
"Uble." 


"Enclosure"  and  "seal" 
suggesting  official  residence. 
CJ.  No.  142  and  No.  209. 

Composed  of  Nos.  252,  212, 
214.  No.  252  has  been  con- 
tracted to  "earth,"  i.  e., 
earth-filled  wall. 


City    gate    with    tower    (as 
now  in  Cliina). 


Gate-court  with  towers  over 
gates  at  either  sides. 


Chinepe  iDEOGKArnS. 
*The  Chinese  notion  that  this  depicts  a  corpulent  man  is  unsatisfactory. 

t  Bamboo  slips  tied  with  a  thong.     Shuo  Wfn  says  that  the  slips  were  of  unequal  length.     Royal  degrees  were  thus  filed. 

tShuo  WC-n  :   "The  records  of  Wu  Ti  [The  Five  Rulers  B.  C.  2597-22.55]  were  given  an  honored  place  upon  a  stand.  ' 
§  This  is  now  app/ied  to  a  temple  over  an  arch  just  inside  a  city  gate. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol,  IV. 


Plate  XIX. 


Meaning         ,,    , 

and  ^',"'^'""" 

Sound.  Form. 


_!  Seal 

g  Form, 

^  A.  D. 

M  100. 


Older  Forms. 


253 


Nation, 
kuo. 


^^      huo. 


255Pop"la''e, 

shu. 


Political 
2.56  district, 
chou. 


Audience 
257      hall, 
t  'in'g. 


«\ 


258 


Judge 

of 

A)ipeal, 

ts'an. 


259   I>ecree, 

chih. 


To  inform 

260  "  1"P^- 
nor, 


ch'eng. 


na-,  *  Scepter, 
knei. 


Just , 
262    public, 
kung. 


263 


Protect, 

pao. 


Tribe, 
204      clan, 


Perpet- 
265      ual, 
fling. 


t  Family, 
266    home, 
kia. 


i4 


>+i 


^ 


13 


EI 


^A^ 


1*. 


k 


^^ 


n 


< 


/^ 


Jil 


I* 


i 


\^ 


9 


u 


± 


yv 


A 


^K 


i-H 


fc3 


(^ 
© 


w 

2 


^6^ 


m 


(fJ 


IJl 


III 


(P    (*)    ll  1^  ^   0^  o) 


'^    ^    ^ 


/I  /I  i  ii  f •  /I 


\^^  j^H  ^\  \\\  u  ]^\ 


\i^^m^\^ 


o    (o\    >±f  -^ 


11 


f  ^^  ^i  e  B 


f 


-^o^  %^  JOi  ^a^  ^  J^  o 


/Itr  i  Til  # 


^fi  ^A  f>k 


f  >J^  §  tt  *  f 


^  (^^(l\it\fk 


Probable 
Original. 


of 


'M 


W 


•^ 


^5 


4^  (^ 


;oc 


(<! 


^^ 


1^, 


^ 


.« 


Remarks. 


Oldest  forms  are  :  "  Popu- 
lace," or,  "populace"  and 
"king."  Later,  "populace," 
"enclosed,"  r/.  No.  254. 


"Halberd"  and  "enclos- 
ure." Symbolic  of  protec- 
tion over  the  people. 


"Together"  and  "fire" 
under  a  "shed."  Symbolic 
of  domestic  life. 


District  between  rivers. 
(Streams  were  natural  boun- 
daries. ) 


"Officer"  (No.  237)  on  a 
"seat."  Some  forms  liave 
"seal"  addetl. 


"East"  and  " speak, "  i.  e. , 
Decree  from  East  Palace,  the 
seat  of  judgment. 


"Above"  and  "speak." 
Divine  or  imperial  decree. 
( Not  related  to  its  radical. ) 


"Mouth"    and    "officer," 
i.  '.,  speecli  before  a  superior. 


Symbol  of   equal  division. 
"  Cut  "  and  an  object. 


Perhaps  "man"  rescuing 
"child"  from  attack  of  beast 
(claw).     Cf.  No.  334. 


In  form  this  is  the  reverse 
of  No.  265.  "Streams  di- 
vided." 


Water  flowing  from  a  pool 
or  spring,  hence  "constant," 
"perpetual." 


Origin  obscure. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 
'**This  may  be  the  carved  lines  upon  a  jade  scepter.     Such  an  ancient  scepter  was  seen  by  the  author.     It  was  a  foot  long  and  two  inches 
wide  of  the  shape  pictured  above,  and  engraved  all  over  witli  conventional  lines. 

tThis  may  come  from  different  roots.  Since  the  Ilan  Dynasty  (circa  B.  C.  100)  it  has  taken  the  sole  form  of  "pig"  under  "roof." 
Earlier  forms  show  various  objects  under  roof.  The  most  reasonable  is  "  three  persons  under  roof"  —  a  very  early  form  —  which  I  liave  taken 
as  the  probable  original. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XX. 


Meaning          »r  j               "  -w 

,  "         Modern        a  i<orm, 

"""               Form.         ^  A.  D. 

fd  100. 


and 
Sound. 


Older  Forms. 


Look, 
267      see, 
kien. 


2(.o  Reverse, 


269 


Self, 


^ 


^ 


Fear, 
270  excited, 
hing. 


271 


To  return, 
hui. 


271,  Pendant, 


273 


ch  'ui. 


Eminent, 
yao. 


274       f'^' 

ISO. 


Value, 
275  precious, 
pao. 


2/6 

*Speech 
yen. 

277 

*  Sound, 
note. 

yin. 

278 

Blend, 
unite, 
kiao. 

279 

Mark, 
sign, 
teen. 

280 

To  cut, 
pa. 

n 


15] 


# 


4 

JL 


^ 


A 


U 


13 


k. 


A 


/V 


7lL 


r 


i 


it 


a 


& 


n 


± 


± 


± 


/-S 


*3 


g 


X 


x 


/v 


© 


7^ 


^ 


I 


'S 


^ 


?\ 


fxtr 


^  i^  i^ 


r^'  ^^ 


o 


ix  ±  ij^  i  ^ 


aK 


*^U4it 


f  '£  °£  T  h-l 


tt^l^i 


f 


^ 


V   U 


^.^?X^ 


V/  V^  >X/ 


§ 


^tt^ti^1^(h 


^ti^pfti^^ 


)(    X  JL  JC 


Probable 
Original. 


i 


^ 


^^ 


l|^ 


±1 


/^. 


J. 


I 


t 


^ 


A 


Kemarks. 


Light  issuing  from  the  eye. 
(In  accord  with  peculiar  no- 
tion among  the  Chinese. ) 


Reversed    body,    hence     to 
"  turn  back,"  obsolete,  cf.  No. 

28. 


"Nose'  (see  No.  33).  (A 
Chinaman  points  to  his  nose  to 
indicate  self ) 


Hands   raised  as  in  terror. 
( Used  only  in  combination. ) 


Shuo  Wen:  "To  revolve." 
E^robably  a  whirlpool,  hence 
"to  return." 


A  pendant  flower,  e.  g.,  wis- 
taria. 


"Earth,"  piled  up,  hence 
"high."  Later,  sign  for 
"platform"  wasadded. 


"  Two  men  seated  upon  tlie 
ground" — a  common  posture 
in  China. 


"shell"  (objects  of  value) 
under  a  "roof."  (A  good 
ideograph. ) 


Symbolizes    words     issuing 
from  the  mouth,  hence  speech. 


Probably  No.  276i  "speech"  ) 
with  "one"  added  to  denote 
"single  utterance"  hence 
"note." 


Blended  or  united  lines. 
Symbolic  of  union.  Of.  Nos. 
279  and  338. 


Blended  lines  as  in  writing. 
Probably  of  same  origin  as 
No.  278. 


Signifies  bisection.  Coin- 
cides with  sign  for  "eight," 
which  may  have  separate  root. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*  A  very  interesting  pair  of  symbols.  Though  the  modern  forms  differ  widely,  the  old  forms  prove  them  to  be  closely  related.  Shuo  AVtm 
considers  No.  277  as  derived  from  No.  276  by  adding  the  sign  for  "one."  This  should  signify  a  simple  utterance  instead  of  a  successwn  of  st)unds 
as  in  speech.  Shuo  W6n's  further  exposition  of  the  relation  of  thought  in  the  heart  to  utterance  is  only  confusing,  for  it  must  be  based  upon 
the  doubtful  assumption  that  No.  277  once  had  the  sign  for  "  heart"  underneath. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXI. 


^  Seal 

Meaning        Modern        S  Form, 

and  Form.        ^  A.   D. 

Sound.  p5  JOO. 


To 
281    divide, 
Jen. 


Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Original. 


Like, 
282    equal, 
pi. 


Level , 

283     even, 

4 'tew. 


Coord i 
284     nate, 

piny. 


285    ^,'"''"' 
hsiao. 


Large, 
286    great, 
ta. 


Up, 
287    above, 
shang. 


Down, 
288    below, 
hsia. 


289 


^  Middle, 

chuny. 


t  Perpen- 
290  dicular, 
kun. 


One 
291     piece, 
ko 


Twist, 

292    twine, 

kiu. 


293 


Form, 
individu- 
ality, 
kiai. 


294  Together, 

kuny. 


^i- 

/^ 

^M 

T  i^\ 

J^i 

J:t 

>t 

fl(\ 

It  li  M  ??  t^ 

AA 

H 

T 

TI 

VJU        YY         -I  r- 

uu 

J] 

f 

?i 

H  fT  r^ 

7A71 

^J^ 

'1^ 

)[ 

'^  n  Hc 

n 

k 

M; 

fr 

::i^  ^  ;!:  ffn  *  ;^ 

5) 

± 

— 

i  i  1  -  ^  . 

• 

A 

— 

—1— 

7  T  "F  -  ^  • 

• 

t 

I 

4* 

[j]    t^  ^  Cf*  fl'  ^ 

^ 

/ 

/ 

1- 

) 

fl 

/I)    ^ 

-(^ 

J-l 

) 

? 

s 

t 

A 

)?. 

)1^  M  ft  t  ^ 

R 

4f 

/v 

StK^^^r'^A 

K 

Remarks. 


From    "knife"   (No.    104) 
and  "cut"  (No.  280). 


Two  men  of  eqmd  height. 
Lines  were  added  to  strengthen 
the  idea. 


Two  shields  on  a  level.     Cf. 
No.  284. 


Two    "  men "    on    "level  " 
(No.  283).     On  even  footing. 


Stick  cut  (No.  280)  in  two, 
hence  "short"  "small." 


Probably  "man"  on 
"man's"  shoulders,  or  man 
taller  than  the  average. 


Object  above  a  line. 


Object  betow  a  line. 


Object  or  point  midway  be- 
tween "up"  and  "down." 


Shuo  W6n  :  "Up  and  down 
equal,"  as  if  the  halves  di- 
verged from  a  central  point. 


Possibly  "a  single  bamboo 
leaf"  {cf.  No.  117)  now  ex- 
panded to  ijj  and  ■/lij  with 
i)honetic. 


Either  "hands"  twisting  a 
"  rope,"  or  twining  vine  with 
"leaves." 


"Man"  and  "cut"  (No. 
280).  Suggesting  distinctive 
personality. 


Four  hands  united. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*The  usual  explanation  of  this  symbol  is  an  object  cut  in  the  middle.  This  fails  to  account  for  the  more  complex  old  forms.  The  most  an- 
cient coins  have  these  complex  forms,  which  is  strange,  in  view  of  the  habit  of  contracting  symbols  on  coins,  unless  the  extra  strokes  were  deemed 
essential  to  the  meaning.     Such  I  believe  was  the  case,  and  the  idea  of  a  point  between  "  up"  and  "  down  "  will  explain  all  the  extant  forms_ 

t  Tlie  original  was  likely  a  solid  line  representing  a  staff  or  other  vertical  object.  Shuo  Wfin's  definition  is  inappropriate,  but  incidentally 
accords  with  the  basic  idea  of  No.  289,  suggested  above. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol  IV. 


Plate  XXII. 


«      •  -         Seal 

^^"'"S  Modern       §        Form, 

„»"''  Form.  - 

Sound. 


A.  D. 

«  100. 


Older  Form. 


'^^^     Hang. 


296  *^""''^' 
iiang. 


t  Thirty, 
„Q7   genera- 
^^'      tion, 
shih. 

t  Substi- 
tute, 
298   genera- 
tion, 
tai. 


Peace, 
299    ngan, 
'an. 


i\ 


300 


Fear, 


301 


Purpo.se, 
determi- 
nation, 
chill. 


Now, 
302  this,  so, 
shih. 


303 


304 


305 


Noon, 


Half, 
pan 


High, 

kao 


Condole 
oQg      witli 
bereaved, 
iiao. 


307 


308 


I,  me, 


Bawl, 

Wit. 


\^ 


\^ 


^ 


^ 


k 


^f 


^f 


a 
1-57 


^ 


M 


1 


A 


+ 


A 


P 


•f 


+ 


+ 


o 

re] 


^ 


a 


ffl 


M 


ttt 


^^ 


(?1 


8 


t 


'i 


t 


f^hm  cand^Aiiifl 


Fffl 


FFl   1^ 


i^^:^  t^  xt^l  HI 


ii(  ri^  '^1^ 


^^h  ^m 


]\^  \i} 


V 


±  *  i  ii.  ik 


£  ^- 


CE. 


A 


trli  /t\  /tiHTifi 


f^  ^vc. 


)^i  f  11/  V  f 


y^ 


<?     $     $     t 


^X^l^^f^ 


t  ^^  ^° 


Chinese  Ideogkaphs. 


Probable 
Original. 


1^ 


/^ 


ttt 


il'i 


<k 


>1 


ii 
^ 


0 


fti 


(?) 


lol 


1. 


^i^l' 


;^' 


Bemarks. 


Two  rooms,  or  two  men  in 
a  liouse.     (obscure  origin. ) 


One  linng,  i.  e.,  one  ounce. 


Triple  sign  for  ten,  i.  e., 
thirty.  A  generation  is  thirty 
years  by  Chinese  reckoning. 


"  Man  "  and  "spear, "  re- 
ferring to  change  of  watgh. 
(Of.  No8.  21.5,  227.) 


One  woman  in  a  house. 
(An  essential  condition  of 
peace  in  Cbina. ) 


Man  standing  upon  a  height 
(hill),  inspires  fear.  (So 
Shuo  WCn. ) 


"Issue"  (No.  107)  and 
"heart"  (No.  41).  ShuoW^n: 
"That  which  issues  from  the 
heart." 


"Sun"  or  "day"  and  "ex- 
act" (No.  Ill),  hence  "now." 
(So  also  Shuo  W^n) 


Probably  a  vertical  line 
through  roof-gable  toward 
zenith,  hence  "noon." 


"Cut"    (No.  280)  and   an 
obscure  sign  of  varied  form. 


Tower  over  city  gate.     Al- 
lied to  No.  251,  2.52. 


"Two  men"  and  "bow." 
Refers  to  ancient  custom  of 
guarding  the  dead  against  wild 
beasts. 


"Hand"  and  "halberd" 
(No.  213),  vaguely  suggesting 
man's  egoism. 


"Large"  (No.  2.S6)  and 
"  mouth."  Mouth  wide  open 
as  in  shouting  or  bawling. 


*When  the  sign  "Hang"   (No.  295)  was  adopted  for  "ounce"   (No.  296),  from  similarity  of  sound,  the  numeral  "one"  was  added  to 
avoid  confusion  with  the  original  sense  of  "Iiang"  (No.  295).     Later  the  new  form  supplemente<l  the  old,  and  now  is  used  for  l)oth  "ounce' 
and  "two." 

t These  synonyms  for  "generation"  differ  in  their  original  meanings.     No.  297  emphasizes  the  rfumd'on  of  a  generation,"  while  No.  298 
implies  succession,  being  originally  "change  of  watch,"  hence  " sul)stitute,"  <  "instead,"  <[  "succession,"  <[  "generation." 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXI 1 1 


,,       .  -  Seal 

Meaning  j^j^^^        g  p^^^,^ 

e"^"".  Form.        ^  A.  D. 

Sound.  ^  joo_ 


Curved, 
309      bent, 
k'ii. 


Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Original. 


310  ^^"?'''"^' 


■Steps, 

311     walk, 

chHh. 


312 


313 


314 


To  run, 
cjio. 


Follow, 
ts'ung. 


Follow, 

ts'uiuj. 


To  move 
315       on, 

yin. 


To  go, 
316     walk, 

t80U. 


To  ptep, 
317       go, 
lisiiig. 


njo    A  step. 


Qjq  To  escort, 
sung.  ■ 


320 


To  stand. 


Two 

321   abreast, 
ping. 


Origin, 
322    source, 
yiian. 


\t 

e 

M 

M  W  ^  ^ 

^ 

A 

i 

i 

1 

? 

?i 

^ 

i 

4_ 

t 

t 

-fit 

1 

f 

1^^ 

/^ 

A 

M 

Art 

i. 

5. 

?. 

^a 

^ 

4- 

it 

^ 
^i; 

ilil 

01 

It 

It 

>.^ 

7^ 

jh 

^  rt)  ^  'X  Sj 

s 

'ih 

r^  fi^  t#  it^  w^  iif§ 

(If 

> 
V 

± 

^^AiA 

i: 

5Zx 

M 

^MDMii 

t-^ 

yl 

r 

fe 

/i  ;^ ''/?.  fjii 

/I 

Remarks. 


A  bent  or  knotty  piece  of 

vood. 


"Child"  (No.  26)  in- 
verted. Abnormal  child, 
hence  "  unfilial." 


Shuo  W^n  :  "Short  steps, 
as  man's  successive  three 
steps." 


"Steps"  (No.  311)  and 
"stop"  (No.  110)  suggesting 
leaps  in  running. 


"Man  beliind  man"   and 
'running"  (No.  312). 


Man  behind  man.    Variant 
of  No.  313. 


Outline  of  man  walking. 
Shuo  W6n  :  "To  keep  go- 
ing." 


"Bend "and  "stop"a.s  in 
walking.  Descriptive  form 
of  the  pictorial  sign  No.  315. 


Foot-prints  or    motion   of 
one  walking. 


"Stop"  (No.  110)  and 
"foot"  (No.  37).  The  lat- 
ter has  been  contracted  to  an 
incongruous  sign. 

"Man"  "running"  (No. 
312)  with  a  torch  in  hand, 
/.  e.,  torch  bearer  (as  escort- 
ing a  bride). 


Probably  "man"  standing 
on  the  ground. 


Two  men  side  by  side. 


"Spring"  (No.  87)  under 
a  "cliff"  (No.  95),  hence, 
' '  source." 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXIV. 


Meaning         ^^^^^^       %       ^^^^ 


and 
Sound. 


Plenty, 
323     rich, 

fetifj. 


*  Large, 
324     lofty, 
t'ai. 


325 


t'ai. 


Enunci- 
ate 
326     word, 
sentence, 
kit. 


Enclose, 
327     wrap, 
poo. 


g28  To  wrap 
up,  ]X10. 


329  Embryo, 


Tender, 
330   young, 
yao. 


Very 
331     small, 
fine,  yu. 


Enfold, 
332    letter, 
han. 


333  t  Dwell, 
ku. 


Protect, 
334   .''^'^I'.' 


deposit, 
ts'un. 


Sheperd- 

335  ess, 
kiang. 

tTo 

336  '*^'""'S' 
connect, 

kuan. 


Form.         •«       A.   D. 
M         100. 


Older  Forms. 


M. 


^v 


^ 


'1 


n 


k 


a 


^ 


# 


I 


•a 


A 


a 


'V 


'i 


k 


u 


P 


^ 


± 


n. 


^ 


i 


? 


0 


(9 


t 


n 


^ 


/? 


u 


^ 
^ 


-&- 


2  1 1.  i  MMi^ 


^  f\ 


rtil\rlift^l^f^ 


±ik  1^  f^^± 


c 

v. 


^  ^  ^  %  ^A 


^  CO 


^^$  ^  ^ 


iQ^n'n^^H 


i  ^ 


66 


®  (S 


A   -; 


$1iiaS  ^f^ 


jg  t^^  nm^ 


? 


8^  5<;?  ;^ 


3^  ^1^  di^ 


Probable 
Original. 


% 


± 


^ 


5, 


0 


-4j 


2 


S 


§S 


^ 


^ 
f 


Remarks. 


"Dish"  (No.  156)  full  of 
viandsr  '.  e.,  "grain"  (No. 
124)  and  "herbs,"  offered 
with  "hands."    (Likecornu- 

copia). 


Also  f^. 


"Twist"  (No.  292)  and 
"  moutli ' '  referring  to  motion 
of  lips  in  speaking. 


Sign  suggesting  a  wrapper. 


Fcvtus  wrapped  in  the 
womb,  with  "child"  added 
as  suggestive  sign.  ( Cf.  No. 
329.) 


Depicts  half-formed  foetus 
before  birth.  Originally  same 
as  Ci  i- 


Seven  months'  foetus.     De- 
veloped from  No.  329. 


No.  330  intensified  by  du- 
plication. 


Shuo  Wen:  "Tongue." 
Possibly  tongue  in  the  mouth. 
Cf.  No.  56. 


Man  standing  in  a  house. 


Hand  over  child.     Cf.  No. 
263.   Shuo  wen:  "Anxiety." 


"Sheep"  and  "woman.' 

"  Sheep-woman." 


String  of  shells. 


Chinese  Ideoguaph,s. 
*  For  full  explanation  see  page  14. 

t  The  evolution  of  the  modern  form  may  be  thus  :  ($•<  ^</5<  fi  <  fi  <  S.     This  theory  is  strengthened  by  the  survival  of  a  variant  fi. 
i  The  ancient  custom  of  stringing  shells  as  money  may  accpunt  fqf  the  tnv4iU4i!!il  'mlfit  "f  stringing  coins  in  China. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV 


Plate  XXV. 


Meaning  „    ,  «"  ^^"^ 

and  Modern  .H  Form, 

Sound  Form.  1  A.  D. 

oouna.  ^         jQ^j 


•Longevity, 
337      age, 
shoii. 


Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Ori<irinal. 


Blend, 
338  diagram, 
yao. 


Singe, 

339  scorch, 

chiao. 


340  W^1"K^^ 
Cheng. 


341  fSplinter, 
p'ien. 


i 


342 


343 


Sweet, 

kan. 


Bitter, 
hsin. 


344   To  use, 
yunfl. 


Strange, 
345   unlike, 


Lift, 
346     raise, 
ki. 


Opposed, 
347  perverse, 
ch'uan. 


Spread 
Q<o  out,  sort 
out, 
jne7i. 


Together, 
349  market, 
chi. 


350  '^^y"'"'' 


f 


/t 


^ 


JH 


X 


X 


/Tv 


n 


X 
X 


^ 


* 


^ij: 


^ 


^ 
^ 


Ifl 


IP 


® 


n 


^ 


11 


+f 


K 


n 


1  li  *j 


^^ 


0 


? 


;ft 


^ 
A,^ 


f^ 


;fv 


A 


ii^l^ 


^ 


^ 


i 


(5)  (^  ©  (i){i)(iii2r 


f  fH^^tS^I 


fflmi:^^)iijiiiii(t] 


xTx 


flf^ 


f#f  4 


1   ^^  -^- 


T/a 


^r^ 


I^^Y 


( %  -^jTi  af 


>H 


t!^ 


(?) 


m 


w 


:f^ 


^ 


1^ 


¥ 


Ke  marks. 


Shuo     Wen:      "Enduring, 
following." 


Blended   lines.     Eelated  to 
Nos.  278,  279,  q.  v. 


One  or  more  birds  over  fire. 
Also  tortoise  over  fire. 


Hands    opposed,    or    strug- 
gling for  a  staii'or  spear. 


Shuo    Wen:    "Split   wood. 
From  half  of  tree." 


Possibly   palatable    (sweet) 
food  retained  in  the  mouth. 


Origin    obscure.     Refers  to 
melancholy  of  autumn. 


Significance  obscure. 


Ghost    or     other     strange 
figure.     Allied  to  No.  354. 


Hands  lifting  a  weight. 


Supposed  by  Chinese  to  be 
two  men  lying  back  to  back  (a 

guess). 


Depicts    beast's    claw    out- 
spread. 


Three  birds  on  a  tree.  (Now 
contracted. ) 


Some  prolific  creature  like 
the  frog  or  scorpion.  (Not 
related  to  its  radical. ) 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*  A  very  complex  symbol  of  many  forms.     It  .seems  to  be  composed  of  ^  lao  "old,"  :^<iyung  "perpetual"  and  O  k'ou,  mouth.      The 
significance  of  the  two  first  is  apparent,  but  that  of  "mouth  "  is  obscure. 

t  Mechanically  derived  from  the  sign  for  "  tree"  (No.  97),     J^qt  tl^e  reverse  of  "  bed"  (No..  154),  as  often  hastily  inferred. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXVI. 


J  "         Modem       "         Form, 
Form.       ^         A.  I). 
«  100. 


and 
Sound. 


Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Original. 


Diety, 
351      gods, 
shell. 


Light- 
ning (?), 
3.52  (original 
of  No.  351, 

?.  "• ) 
*  Heaven- 
ly influ- 
353      ence, 
edict, 
,sV. 


354  I^f"'""' 


Ancestral 
355  temple, 

tsung. 


Sacrifice, 
356  ancestor, 

tsu. 


367    ^'!'*'' 
nsiao. 


Thank 

358  °'^*'.""«' 
enjoy, 

hsiang. 


To  per- 
359     vade, 
Mng. 


360   ^T""' 
cliao. 


361 


To  divine, 
pu. 


To  en- 
quire by 

362  divina- 

tion, 
chan. 

Sacrificial 

363  tankard, 

yu. 


t  Incense- 
•364   tripod, 
ting. 


# 


^t 


/J\ 


7A 


^ 


o 

^ 


1^ 


v5 


14 


Tn 


t 


feH 


ro 


;n 


A 


Tx 


^ 


yi. 


h 


V 


k 


tl^ 


JK 


nifi 


e 


-6- 

e 


j/^l' 


h 


^ 


§ 


^t''F^9f|)l^'i.^ll5 


1^ 


^\^k\ki^%%\%f>^k 


1>  M  /t^  «i  /// 


K%%t 


w  jmi  li^ 


Jiifi^i  t^iti^A 


^l> 


s$ ttt^t 


$  tt^ttt 


,>\v  fii  ^p  t*  ')l'l- 


h  15  r  i  h  ^ 


4^  © 


i  fi  ^  (i)  i  W^  ^ 


IIWW 


(0 


(?) 


/!( 


^' 


1^ 


A 


<^ 


s 


'1(0 


i' 


[3= 


Remarks. 


(See  note  under  No.  92.) 
Symbols  found  with  or  with- 
out sign  for  "heavenly  influ- 

j^ence"  (No.  353)  as  radical. 
Used  both  a«  noun   (deity) 

I  and  adjective  (divine,  spirit- 

J  ual). 


Form  of  man  with  sign  for 
"myiitery"  affixed.  c5.  No. 
3!5. 


"E<iifire"  with   "heavenly 
influence"  within. 


Symbol  of  sacrifice  (grave, 
piled  cakes,  or  vessel)  to  which 
"heavenly  influence"  was 
added. 

Shuo  Wen:  "One  who  pi- 
ously treats  his  father  and 
mother.  From  'old'  and  'son,' 
The  son  supports  the  aged." 


Covered  jar  used  in  thank 
offerings. 

Originally  same  as  No.  359. 


Shuo  W6n  rightly  considers 
this  the  same  as  No.  35S. 
(Variant  §  still  used.) 


Supposed  to  be  lines  on  tor- 
toise-shell, used  in  divination. 


Perhaps  related  to  No.  360. 


"Mouth"  and  "to divine" 
(No.  361).  Sometimes  en- 
closed in  sign  of  obscure  mean- 
ing. 


Depicts   tankard,  with  No. 
361  added. 


Shell  (No.  132)  with  legs. 


Chinese   Ideographs. 

*Shuo  W6n:  "That  which  comes  from  Heaven  as  revealing  fortune  or  misfortune  to  men.  From  .n  and  ||',  sim,  moon  and  stars  descending. 
Pertains  to  astrological  scrutiny  into  divine  affairs."  The  horizontal  lines  may  be  the  sign  for  "above"  (No.  287),  or  a  special  sign  for  Heaven. 
The  vertical  lines  depict  the  descending  influences. 

t  Common  form  of  the  tripod  is  ^^,  which  may  be  from  the  original  use  of  a  homed  shell  for  holding  incense,  as  for  instance  ^^. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXVIl. 


M  n    !    £r  "^  ^^ 

„    1  °  Modem        u  Form, 

Si""'',  Form.        ^  A.  D 

fecund.  -  jQo. 


Older  Forms. 


*Sacrifi- 
365  cial  bowl, 
i. 


3GC 


Celestial, 
superior, 

k'ien, 

kan. 


Earthly, 
367  inferior, 
k'un. 


Tutelary- 
308    deity, 


t  To  di- 
vine by 
369    witch- 
craft, 
shih. 


370    ^P'"'- 
ch  ang. 


I 


it 


H 


371 


Venerate, 
honor- 
able, 

tsun. 


Tripod 


S72      <="P' 
"^^^     rank, 

chiie. 


373 


Large 

measure, 

urn, 

li,  hi. 


(Variant, 
374  of  last), 
li. 


To  sacri- 
375      fice, 
chi. 


Active 
o„/,   or  male 
principle, 

yang. 

Passive 
377  or  female 
principle, 
yin. 


Supreme 
378    Ruler, 
ti. 


*/ 


■D- 


\3 

\?7 


5^7 


PI 


PI 


-1. 


t 


;Tx 


^ 
U 

n 


ft 


±^1^ 


li 


AH 


1^ 


i 


A 


C7 


V3 

v?7 


Tx 


I 


+ 


+ 


At.^ 


1 


o 


JR 


e 


r-C 


m 


^ 


tMuiMrf? 


±f,  ±^  ±^  f 


m 


li  i))^  -ni^  ||< 


;In 


rT  «  ^ 


>'i;^     -    .y^v 


©     1  >W    |S  ^^  5§ 


as!^ 


^^fisaxt^ 


®^ 


^>^^  #  ^;.Ti  I^  1 1|  ti 


^1  il^ftl^f^l 


^i  ^t  ^t  pi  t  # 


-Ny^ 


1"^^^%^^^ 


Probable 
Original. 


IT 


'^ 


fl 


,f /K 


ft 


V 


If^ 


(?) 


^ 


f 


A 


Remarks. 


Shuo  Wfin  calls  this  a  ves- 
sel for  ancestral  worship. 


Mystic  symbol  composed  of 
elements  pertaining  to  heaven, 
sun,  air,  or  fire,  and  meteoric 
influence. 


"Earth"  and  "God"  (No. 
351)  contracted,  i.  e.,  "earth- 
deity."  Opposite  of  No.  366. 


"Heavenly  influence" 
(No.  353)  over  nature  (trees 
and  earth ).  Shuo  Wen  : 
"Earth-lord." 


Shuo  W6n:  "Mystic 
changes  in  nature  as  detected 
by  the  use  of  May-weed." 


Weird  sign  for  a  ghost. 


"Hands"  offering  "sacri- 
cial  jar"  before  a  "mound" 
( grave).  ( Last  has  been  dis- 
carded, and  "hands"  changed 
to  sign  for  "inch.") 

Descriptive  and  pictorial 
signs  relating  to  use  of  the 
libation  cup  "chiie." 


Depicts   large   tripod  with 
handles,  used  in  temples. 


The  two  signs  at  sides  are 
the  handles,  altered  to  "bow" 
(No.  211). 


"Hand,"  "flesh"  and 
"jar"  in  a  "  temple."  Last 
is  now  discarded  and  "jar" 
altered. 


ShuoWCn:  "High,  light. 
Superior  forces  of  nature." 


Precise  significance  of  this 
and  No.  376  is  not  clear. 
They  refer  to  geomantic  con- 
dition, hill,  sun,  cloud,  etc. 

Shuo  W6n:  "To  judge. 
Title  of  the  universal  ruler." 
( Used  of  emperor  and  deity. ) 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*Thig  complex  and  apparently  incongruous  symbol  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  the  language.  It  is  descriptive  rather  than  pictorial,  being 
composed  of  four  elementary  signs  suggestive  of  sacrifice,  to  wit :  Suine's  heud  (No.  18),  slielkJ-ffrain  (No.  124),  silk\jio.  134)  and  "hands," 
the  last  .significant  of  "  offering"  and  characteristic  of  many  old  symbols  relating  to  sacrifice.  Some  of  the  forms  are  in  ancient  script  which 
obscures  the  signs  depicted.     The  form  of  the  vessel  is  ^^  as  seen  in  recovered  specimens. 

fThis  complex  sign  is  supposed  to  suggest  the  gestures  and  cries  of  a  witch.  May-weed,  in  bundles  of  64  stalks,  is  still  used  by  Chinese  in 
divination. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV 


Plate  XXVI II 


^Zl"^        Modern      j       FoTm, 
Sound. 


379 


Ob- 
structed 
growth, 


*Nnt 

380  ' 

pu. 


Refuse, 
381      not, 
/on. 


Have 
382      not, 
mu. 


ogq  t  Do  not, 


384 


No, 


Unyield- 
385  ing  not. 


Opposed, 
386      not, 

fei. 


ggy  Not  yet, 


Without 
388   do  not, , 
7no. 


t  None, 
389    minus. 


Form.        -^        A.  D. 
pq         100. 


Older  Forms 


^ 


^^ 


V3 


^ 


h 


* 


^^ 


^ 


m 


^ 


a 


^ 


* 


'7 


? 


*P 


i 


-»!?• 


X 


}{^ 


^ 


^ 


))'@ 
(('5^ 


t 


4) 


« 


f 


s 


V"V 


mi^MU 


M^ 


I  I  H  §  ^  f  t 


^  V  ^  ^  f^  # 


:5  #  #  *  f 


^ii^^^^p^ 


%  t^P^n^t 


W   r^    ^ 


Ji.j    *A=li  -RJ^-  fi^  ^ 


Probable 
Original. 


X 


J^ 


^ 


I?) 


t 


^ 


^^ 


* 


■vlv 


Eemarks. 


Tree  with  top  cut  off.     Ob- 
solete form  related  to  No.  380. 


Derived  from  No.  379,  which 
suggests  negation. 


No.  380  intensified  by  add- 
ing "mouth."  W6n-li  or 
literary  form  of  No.  380. 


"The  end"  <  "none"  < 
"no  more"  <  "have  not." 
Also  means  "drown." 


Derived    from    "woman" 

(No.  24). 


Shuo  W^n  considers  this  to 
be  an  ancient  flag  with  three 
pennants  used  for  signalling 
"no." 

Something  tied  with  cords. 
Shuo  W6n  :  "Unyielding. 
From  '  thongs '  [No.  197]  con- 
tracted." 


Things (bows?)  back  to 
back,  hence  "opposed." 


Shuo  W6n:  "Tree  in  full 
ceaf  and  branch."  Signifi- 
lance  not  clear. 


"Sun"  obscured  by 
"leaves"  <  shady  <  dark  < 
invisible  <  without. 


ShuoWfin:  "Lost." 


Chinese  Ideographs. 

*The  Chinese,  following  Shuo  W6n,  consider  this  to  be  inverted  J  chth,  "at,"  which  they  interpret  as  a  bird  flying  to  earth.  This  is 
far-fetched,  and  in  fact  No.  380  is  not  the  inversion  of  the  character  for  "at."  I  prefer  to  consider  it  as  derived  from  No.  379,  an  ancient  sign 
now  discarded. 

t  Shuo  W6n  :  "Stop.     Figure  of  woman  with  line  across  it  as  if  prohibiting  illicit  conduct." 

i  A  very  obscure  symbol.  Chinese  scholars  have  made  many  conjectures,  but  none  satisfactory.  I  venture  an  additional  guess,  to  wit,  that 
we  must  look  to  No.  207  for  the  key.  The  upper  part  of  this  (No.  389)  exactly  corresponds  to  the  chariot-shaft  and  yokes  of  No.  207.  May  it 
not  be  a  span  of  horses  separated  from  the  cart?    Hence  "lacking"  "without."     To  this  the  signs  "lost"  and  "trees"  have  been  added. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV 


Plate  XXIX. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


^ 

Seal 

Modern 

h 

Form, 

Form. 

T3 

A.  D. 

« 

100. 

Older  Forms. 


Probable 
Original. 


390 


391 


One, 


Two, 


392    Three, 


393 


394 


Four, 


Five, 


♦Six 


396  *^,T'' 
en  I. 


397  *^'S''^' 
pa. 


398 


Nine, 
kiu. 


399         ^^' 
shih. 


400  Twenty, 


401  Thirty, 

shin,  so. 


Hundred, 
402    many, 
pei. 


Thous- 
403     and, 
ch^ien. 


— 

— 

-  /  \  \  ^  ^ 

J=. 

— 

-  //  w  1  ^4 

11 

^ 

— 

._ 

=  ///  \^  III 

1 

\B 

a 

<^ 

GD'R^  ^(J  t  =  nil 

22 

— 

X 

S  X  X  X  z  1  mil 

1   ,2 

/v 

i^ 

^/O  A  ^J.T 

/fV 

-t 

— 

^ 

^  t  ^  >^>t^i 

-^ 

/\ 

/v 

?\ 

)(  K  X  <1  P"?  i!!^'  =i= 

p^ 

iL 

L 

1? 

\^  A  \^^v 

Bv 

+ 

+ 

tU  If  t 

1 

if 

+ 

tt 

■ft-  tf  ft 

'  1  1 

^ 

+ 

tft 

■t^  m^t^ 

llf 

i 

sb 

^ 

i©"^!^ 

® 

f 

f 

? 

R-?t^^^1- 

^. 

Remarks. 


One  line,  or  one  weapon. 


Two  lines,  or  two  weapons. 


Three  lines. 


Four  lines,  gradually  con- 
nected in  cursory  style. 


Five  lines,  variously  indi- 
cated. 


Probably  six  lines  united. 


Probably   seven  lines 
united. 


Eight  lines  united. 


Probably  nine  lines  united. 


Two   contracted   signs  for 
five  united. 


Two  tens. 


Three  tens. 


Kesenibles  signs  for 
"head"  and  "nose."  Sig- 
nificance disputed. 


Possibly    "hundred-tens" 
(origin  obscure). 


Chinese  Ideogkaphs. 

*The  respective  signs  X  i  =  belong  to  a  distinct  system  of  numerals  still  used  for  commercial  purposes,  which  combines  figures  above 
five.  The  vertical  line  is  a  contraction  of  ^  "five"  to  which  "one,"  "  two"  and  "three"  are  added  to  indicate  "six,"  "  seven"  and  "eight." 
The  regular  system  combines  after  "ten." 

tThis  sign  is  undoubtedly  two  fives  contracted.     Originally  X  or  some  like  form,  as  in  the  Roman  numeral  X  which  is  a  duplicated  \/. 


chalfant:  early  chinese  writing  17 

Values  of  Latin  Letters  in  the  System  of  Romanized  Chinese  Used  in  This 
Treatise,  Being  That  Known  as  Wade's  System  with  Slight  Modifications. 

a,  before  ng  or  final,  like  "a"  in  "ball." 
an,  as  in  "pan,"  the  vowel  tending  toward  Italian  "a." 
ai,  as  long  "i"  in  "like." 
ao,  as  "ow"  in  "cow." 

e,  an  obscure  sound  resembling  ii. 
en,  as  in  "then,"  tending  toward  "an." 
6,  short  "e"  (not  used  by  Wade), 
ei,  long  "a"  (a)  resolving  into  e. 

i,  as  e  when  final,  or  t  when  followed  by  "n"  or  "ng,"  * 

ih,  as  i. 

i,  an  obscure  vowel  like  "e"  in  "able."     (Note  used  by  Wade.) 
ia,  as  "ya"  with  broad  sound  of  "a." 
iao,  as  "yow." 
ie,  semi-diphthong  with  the  "e"  slightly  audible  like  e-e. 
iu,  like  "ew"  in  "few." 

o,  o  followed  by  slight  breathing  like  "o-eh." 
ou,  o  resolving  into  n. 
6,  like  German  6.     (Not  used  by  Wade.) 
u,  like  "oo"  in  "fool,"  or  like  the  word  "woo." 
ii,  approximate  French  sound  of  "u." 
un,  like  "  wen." 
ua,    "    "wa"  in  "water." 
uai,     "     "  wi"  in  "wise." 
ui,     "    the  word  "  we." 

uo,    "    "woa"  in  the  exclamation  "whoa"  (hwoa). 
uei,    "    "  way." 
yu,    "    the  word  "you." 
ch,    "    English  "j"  or  soft  "g." 
ch',    "  "        "ch." 

hsi,    "    "  hyee"  or  "see"  (two  classes  of  sounds  not  distinguished  by  Wade), 
j,    "    French  "j  "  with  trace  of  "  r." 
p,  nearly  like  "b." 
p',  hke  "p." 
t,  nearly  like  "d." 
t',  like  "t." 


18  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 

II.    NOTES  UPON  THE  "SHUO  WEN." 

As  already  stated,  this  great  work  was  published  about  120  A.  D.,  and  has  been 
repeatedly  reedited  by  later  scholars,  preserving,  however,  what  purports  to  be  the 
original  text.  This  dictionary,  being  etymological  in  aim,  gives  the  author's  opinion 
as  to  the' primitive  meaning  of  a  word,  often  with  a  surmise  as  to  its  derivation,  and 
occasionally  a  suggestion  as  to  pronunciation.  In  its  present  form  this  lexicon  defines 
some  ten  thousand  symbols  based  upon  five  hundred  and  forty ^  "classifiers." 

By  reference  to  the  appended  list  of  these  so-called  "classifiers,"  several  peculiari- 
ties will  be  noticed.  In  the  first  place  they  seem  to  have  been  selected  upon  no 
logical  plan,  and  are  entirely  too  numerous.  This  latter  fault  in  the  system  soon 
manifested  itself,  for  subsequent  lexicographers  successively  reduced  the  number  until 
the  reign  of  Kanghsi,  when  the  greatest  of  all  (Jhinese  dictionaries  appeared  under 
the  royal  patronage,  and  classified  some  45,000  symliols  under  214  determinatives 
(which  are  usually  called  "Radicals").  Of  these,  206  were  retained  out  of  the 
original  540,  and  eight  others  were  added,,  viz.,  8th  (o-),  56th  (-^),  69th  (/j),  71st 
m  88th  iX),  90th  (^),  138th  (pO,  186th  (^). 

Secondly  they  fail  to  include  as  classifiers  certain  ancient  symbols  as  ^,  Jj,  ^,  and 
;!(,  which  found  early  use  in  composition.  These  four  have  since  been  recognized 
as  sufficiently  important  to  be  used  as  radicals.  The  same  cannot  be  claimed  for 
the  other  five  new  radicals,  for  the  small  groups  under  each  could  easily  have  been 
distributed  among  the  already  recognized  classes,  e.  g.,  .x,  under  /^  or  i-^n  where 
most  of  its  class  naturally  belong ;  -^  under  -^  ;  y^  under  )\,  or  )l,. 

The  "Shuo  Wen  "  recognizes  six  classes  or  kinds  of  symbols,  defined  as  follows  : 

'h  M  pictographs,  as  X  "tree,"  Q  "sun." 

4a  $■>  indicators,  as  ^  "earth  piled  up,"  "  high." 
a  /S-'  composites,  as  |ft  "sacrificial  vase." 

^f  5±'  inversions,  as  ^  and  ^,  "  son  "  and  "  unfilial." 

^^  7^,  phonetic  signs,  as  ^^  "  flower  "  ('f.^  being  merely  phonetic). 

i?ij%  substitutes  (metaphors),  as  ^  {^)  "fattier"  ("hand"  holding  "rod"). 
While  representative  symbols  may  sometimes  apply  to  more  than  one  class,  yet 
the  conception  is  on  the  whole  quite  happy.  The  definitions  and  derivations  in 
the  Shuo  W6n  do  not  always  appeal  to  the  student  as  reasonable,  and  suggest,  what 
is  probably  the  truth,  that  many  of  them  are  mere  guesses  on  the  part  of  the  author. 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  author  had  access  to  data  and  sources  of  informa- 
tion now  lost,  and  therefore  may  be  right  in  some  cases  where  his  opinion  would 

"The  number  of  these  "pl^s^Kjerg"  ranges  from  534  to  544,  according  to  the  method  of  computation. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXX. 


Shuo  W(^n,       Modern 
Classifier.         Form. 


— 

b 

^ 

y^ 

T 

^ 

-fc 

^ 

t 



— 

1 

1 

^ 

^ 

Js 

Tn 

^ 

s. 

^^ 

ii 

s 

^ 

^ 

Fl 

l[ 

K 

Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


One, 


Bemarks. 


1st    Radical. 

See  No.  390. 


Shuo  W6n,        Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Bemarks. 


Undulating  air,  ^^  ^^  ^gg 


Nail,  sting?     g     jj^   igg 


^^',^"'  See  No.  396. 


Ten-feet,        rp^^  ,^^„^j 
cAanji. 


Three,  gge  ^^  392. 

saw. 


'!^i^J„'''  See  No.  287. 


Concealed, 
mien. 


^'"'  See  No.  380. 

pu. 


Horary  sign, 
1-3  A.  M., 

ch'ou. 


^^'  See  No.  94. 


South  the  source 

of  fire, 

ping. 

Original  form"of 
A  sacrifice,  No.    356,    but 

tsu,  ch'ie.  now  a  conjunc- 

tion ch'ie. 


Foundations, 

ki. 


J 

? 

4 

^ 

^ 

^ 

fi 

1 

^ 

¥ 

6 

\ 

M 

^ 

fi 

a 

f" 

; 

R 

n 

^ 

X 

1 

-t 

f 

1 

r 

,r 

^^^^'  2d  Radical. 


T'l'ist.  See  No.  292. 

k  lu. 


Jungle,  Old  synonym  of 

kuii.  No.  112. 


Grasp, 
ki. 


Luxuriant, 
eho. 


Lamp-flame,      „,  _    ,.     , 
(]ot,  3d  Radical. 

ehu. 


Cinnabar, 
tan. 


Pellet,  pill, 
wan. 


Bending  to  the 

right,  4th  Radical. 

p'ie. 


But,  rather, 
nai. 


Following, 

enduring, 

kiu. 


To  issue,  of, 

chih.  See  No.  108. 


To  heap  up,       Belated    to   No. 
tut.  193. 


Bowing, 


Chinese  Ideographs.  - 

[Note.  —The  numbers  in  this  series  (PI.  XXX— XLIX  inc.)  refer  to  the  numbers  of  the  ideographs  in  Plates  I-XXIX. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXXI. 


Shiio  WOn, 
Classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Rema  rks. 


Shuo  Wen,        Modern 
Cla&sifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


\ 

V 

p 

#, 

h 

M 

ru. 

L 

f? 

h. 

^ 

t 

U 

L 

■i 

J 

? 

f 



-=- 

T 

? 

? 

^ 

« 

if 

Bending  to  the 
left, 
fu. 


T    r,  1       1        See   under   48tli 

Ijeit  hand,  d    i-     i        a  „ 

,  '  Riiuical.      see 

also  No.  67. 


To  turn  back,     See  No.  2G8. 


Diverging 
stream,  See  No.  264. 

p'ai. 


Crooked,       5th  Radical. 

i. 


,  ^i"®'  See  No.  398. 

km. 


Bird  of 

unknown  sort, 

ya. 


Secluded, 
yin. 


Hook,  6tli     Radical. 

A:  tie.  See  No.  192. 


I,  me, 

yii. 


Two, 
Er. 


Stratum  of 

cloud,  at, 

yii. 


7tli     Radical. 

See  No.  391. 


Mist,  cloud,      cy.  No.  90. 
yitn. 


'^y.*'"'  See  No.  1. 52. 

clung. 


* 

S 

ft 

n. 

S"; 

t 

^ 

^ 

* 

\i7 

1 

^ 

A 

/.v 

flfl 

AA 

iH 

-TK 

/Tl 

i 

fA 

Hunch-back, 

"K'y, 

H'O. 


x\(-i-),      8tli 
Neck,  strong.  Radical  is  not 

laing.  a    Shuo    Wfn 

clas.sifier. 


Horary  sign, 

9-11  A.  M., 

hai. 


Blend, 
kiao. 


Armpits, 
include,  also. 


See  No.  278. 


Sacrificial  jar,     g         j^         ggg 
enjoy  blessings,        ggg 
h^ng,  hsiang. 


^"^'kilg^''^'      See  No.  2.51. 


Granary,  Synonym  of  No. 

lin.  187. 


Man  (generic),     9th       Radical. 

jen,  yin.  See  No.  22. 


To  a-ssemble, 

chi. 


To  follow, 
ta'ung. 


See  No.  314. 


^  l'''"^'         See  No.  70. 
cnung. 


Come, 
Ud. 


Dawn, 
k<m. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Shiio  W6n, 
Classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Kemarks. 


Sluio  wen,        Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sonnd. 


Plate  XXXII 

Remarks. 


f 

i\ 

;l 

R 

/Li 

f^ 

?? 

5/e. 

t 

% 

0:5 

§ 

jt 

ft 

1 

X 

A 

\t 

t 

m 

TO 

iS 

yv 

Flowers,  glory,  Old    variant    of 
hua.  No.  106. 


<^,'?"'''y'        See  No.  187. 


10th    EadicaL 

./""".'  Variant  of  No. 

jCTi,  1/iH.  22 


Elder  brother, 
lisiung. 


Precede, 
hsien. 


Obscure, 
Am. 


Able,  conquer. 


Ehinoceros,  ^^     ,- 

hgi_  See  No.  17. 


Hare,  R„de  picture  of  f\— 

''"•  the  animaL  I  ~~ 


Hairpin,  clasp. 


Enter,  inside,     nthRadical. 

jtt,  yu. 


Hidden,  lost, 
wang. 


Two, 
liang. 


See  No.  295. 


Cut,  eight,      12th    Badical 


jja. 


See  No.  397. 


Chinese  Ideogbaphs, 


1^ 

* 

f^ 

n 

J 

tt^ 

* 

e 

A- 

S 

i 

n 

R 

Fl 

\=7 

R 

.^ 

n 

r^ 

? 

^ 

:^ 

VJc 

n 

A. 

An  interjection, 

hsi. 


Six, 
tia. 


See  No.  395. 


''"^tS^"'    See  No.  294. 


Frontier,  desert,  ^^t^  .  Radical. 
Variant  of  No. 

228. 


kiuntj. 


List,  record,     „     „     „._ 
'(g<^       '     See  No.  247. 


Delicate,  fine.    Possibly   related 
Jan.  to  No.  35. 


Millions,        Said  to  depict  the 
1^^  small  rafters  ot 

a  roof. 


Cap, 


Cap, 


To  flay, 
kiui. 


Variant   of    No. 
167. 


See  No.  167. 


Curtain,  Radical. 

table  cover,      "^^^^^  ^o   176 


Shade,  dark, 
ming. 


Ice,  15th    Radical. 

ping.  See  No.  86. 


Small  table,     16th    Radical. 

ki.  gee  No.  181, 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV 


Plate  XXXIII. 


Shuo  wen, 
classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Kemarks. 


Sliiio  W6n,         Modern 
classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Souud. 


Bemarkg. 


R 

;i. 

u 

M 

u 

/a 

a 

li 

W 

ii 

^ 

ill 

9> 

77 

h 

;?7 

Vn 

^^ 

* 

^ 

Is, 

4 

0 

^ 

^ 

^^ 

® 

fe 

c,      ,  ,    ^,  Component   part 

Short  feathers,        ^f 'J^os.  12  and 
shu.  20. 


To  gape, 
k'an. 


17th    Radical. 

See  No.  47. 


Willow  basket, 


Unlucky,  bad, 

hxiunff. 


See  No.  159. 


A  sort  of 

utensil, 

ts'u. 


To  issue, 
eh'u. 


Knife, 

hio. 


Cutting-edge, 
jin,  yin. 


To  notch  a 

stick, 

kH. 


Tendon, 

strength, 

li. 


United 

strength, 

concord, 

hsie. 


Wrap. 

pao. 


To  dip  with 

a  ladle, 

cho,  ghuo. 


To  enfold, 

pw. 


Obsolete,  exact 
form  of  vessel 
now  unknown. 


See  No.  107. 


ISth    Radical. 

See  No.  164. 


The  small  stroke 
indicates  the 
knife-edge. 


A  "notched 
stick"  and 
"knife." 


19tli    Radical: 

See  No.  48. 


Obsolete. 


See  No.  327. 


See  No.  328. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


^ 

'^ 

^x 

t 

n 

it 

L 

c 

^ 

u 

-4- 

a 

ft 

ftt 

-ttf 

ch 

^ 

V- 

¥ 

? 

t 

[- 

h 

^ 

P 

ik 

')? 

No,  not,         ggg  ^^   384_ 

Wit. 


Spoon,  ladle,    21st    Radical. 
pi.  See  No.  161. 


Now  used   only 

Back  to  back,        for     "north." 

pei,  po.  Adopted  from 

coincidence  of 

sound. 

Receptacle,     22d      Radical. 

fang.  See  No.  182. 


Covered  recep-  23d      Radical. 
tacle,  coffer.  Allied  to  No. 

hu.  182. 


Ten,  24tli    Radical- 

shih.  See  No.  399. 


Fleeing, 

hsiian. 


Thirty, 


See  No.  401. 
Also  old  form 
of  No.  297. 


Noon,  ggg  No.  303. 

wu. 


Half,  See  No.  304. 

pan. 


Winnowing      gge  No.  189. 
fan, 
pan. 


To  divine,      25th    Radical 


pu. 


See  No.  361. 


Sea],  knot,      26th    Radical. 
Me.  See  No.  209. 


To  rule, 
k'ing,  chi. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXXIV. 


Shuo  W6n,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Shuo  Wfin,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


^^ 

^1 

^^ 

^r* 

fl 

;t 

M 

? 

£p 

s 

yl 

r 

r 

o 

A 

i 

A 

^ 

i 

0 

06 

6 

i 

^ 

^ 

R 

fy^ 

Horary  sign, 

5-7  A.  M., 


^ggs,  ggg  No.  60. 

hum. 


A  round 

wine-jar, 

chih. 


Seal,  signet,      g^^  -^^  glO. 
yin. 


Fear,  danger,    g^^  j^o.  300. 


Overhanging     jTth     RadicaL 

^""'  See  No.  95. 

nan. 


Thick,  Inversion  of  No. 

htm.  359. 


lllic"'         28th  RadicaL 


UnfilJal,         ggg  No.  310. 
tit. 


Go,  depart. 


High,  heap.     Stones  piled  up. 
lei,  Im.  Cf.  No.  273. 


Single,  only, 
chuan. 


Right  hand,     29th    RadicaL 

2/«.  See  No.  58. 


Hands  clasped    „  ,         ,.  , 

as  in  greeting,    See     also     o5th 
kung.  Radical.     . 


¥ 

^i 

^ 

A 

0 

X3l 

Si 

t 

0 

a 

K 

v:3 

f 

^ 

h1 

=1 

/^ 

>g 

4 

^ 

* 

-^ 

1 

'^ 

m 

op 

(^ 

\^ 

To  pull, 
p'ien. 


United, 
jiie. 


Connected, 

cho. 


To  descend, 
•  p'iao. 


Mouth, 

k'ou. 


But,  only, 
chih. 


Sign  of  permis- 
sion, may, 
k'o. 


Obsolete  syno- 
nym of  No. 
219. 


An  allied  sign  of 
different  ori- 
gin signifies  a 
mythical   tree. 


Obsolete  syno- 
nym of  No. 
294. 


30th    RadicaL 

See  No.  34. 


To  control, 
si'. 


See  No.  242. 


^"'^'■'  See  No.  243. 

hou. 


Ancient, 

ku. 


Twist,  phrase,    See  No.  326. 
kii. 


Scribe,  gge  No.  246, 

shih. 


Cry  of  terror,    Two   mouths. 
Iisuan.  Obsolete. 


Slow  of  8i)eech, 
na. 


Chinese  Ideographs, 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV, 


Plate  XXXV 


Shuo  Wen,        Modem 
Classifier.  Form. 


?l 


tid 


t 


o 


e5 


S 


4: 
^:7 


*7 

V3 


1 


'^ 


■V+ 
V3 


i 
\27 


Q 


\TE? 


vi? 


\i7 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 

Remarks. 

To  gore, 

publish, 

kao. 

From  "ox,"  and 
a  complex  sign 
now  contracted. 

Backbone, 
lit. 

See  No.  53. 

Cry  of  pain, 

hao. 

Rank,  order. 

p'tn. 

To  wail,  cry, 

k'u. 

"Mouth"     re- 
peated,  and 
"dog."    Orig- 
inally "howl." 

To  speak, 
yUn,  yuan. 

Happy,  glad, 
hd. 

Shuo  WSn,      Modern 
Classifier.         Form. 


-.  Obsolete.     Also 

^^"y-.  old  variant  of 

chi,  ch  I.  No.  91. 


_  ,  1      ,       Obsolete.      Shuo 

Beast  of  burden      ;v6n  guesses  it 
(sound  to  be  a  horse's 

unknown).  Yvfid. 


Desire,  covet, 
ahei,  si. 


Enclosure,       31st  Radical. 

n-ei.  See  No.  142. 


Fo;""-  See  No.  393. 


Top  of  the  head 
(or)  fietus  in     Obsolete, 
womb, 
lisin. 


Furnace-flue, 
window,* 

ch'uang,  ts'ung. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


© 

\3J 

± 

ff 

4 

/ 

/^  A 

i 

i 

I 

it 

~\~ 

tt 

T" 

4 

f 

# 

t 

V3 

f 

5. 

^ 

X 

^ 

-^ 

Lattice  window,  g^^  ^      ^^ 
kiung. 


Earth,  clay,       32d      Radical. 

I'u.  See  No.  80. 


Complete,  full,    g^^  j^^,  236. 
t  mg. 


Pendant,         g^^  j^^   272. 
en  ui. 


Redoubt, 
yung. 


See  also  under 
189th  Radical. 
Of.  No.  250. 


From  "  yellow  " 
,  ,,  and    "earth," 

Loess  earth,  referring  to 


kin. 


g  to 
color  of  the 
clay. 


Piled  up,  high,    Qf  jjjj   273. 
yao.  •' 


Officer,  scholar,    33d      Radical. 

ahih.  See  No.  237. 


„      ,   ,  ,,        9th   of   the  Ten 
Great^full,  gj^^^^    g  j^^_ 

J^-  236. 


Kettle,  Original    was    a 

Am.  picture  of  the 

utensil. 


Single,  one,       Evidently  de- 
i.  rived  from  last. 


Joyous, 
chii,  chu. 


^chr'         34th  Radical. 


,?"^i.       35th  Radical. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXXVl. 


Shiio  WOn, 
Classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Shno  Wfn, 
Classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


9 

9 

? 

9 

ii 

± 

t 

A 

1^ 

k 

^ 

^ 

tr 

$ 

^ 

k 

f 

t 

t 

* 

^ 

# 

^ 

■k 

^ 

^ 

Evening,       36tli    Radical. 
hsi.  See  No.  131. 


,    - '  Origin  obscure. 


Large, 
to. 


Large, 

la. 


Master, 


37th    BadicaL 

See  No.  286. 


Alternate     form 
of  last. 


See  No.  244. 


/«. 


Pleasing, 

yao. 


Release, 

kao,  hao. 


Go  and  come, 
t'ao. 


To  kowtow,      Man   with   head 
"'«•  inclined. 


Bugbear, 

bandit, 

nie. 


Aflluent, 


Outspread 

wings, 
sui,  hsin. 


Woman,        agth    Radical. 

nu.  See  No.  24. 


Male  child,     39th    Radical. 

<»»•  See  No.  26. 


^ 

* 

n 

.-s 

0 

t 

^ 

t 

(s\ 

t 

t 

t 

H^ 

'it 

^ 

^ 

K 

'h 

m 

It 

i 

? 

F 

h 

K 

^ 

a 

Respectful,        obsolete. 
Chan,  Chun. 


Roof,  house,      40th    Radical. 
mien.  See  No.  141. 


Store-room, 
chu. 


Cobra,  that, 

another, 

t'o. 


Palace, 
kung. 


Knee-pan, 

horary  sign, 

3-5  P.  M., 

yin. 


Dream, 

mhig. 


Finger-joint, 
inch, 
ts'un. 


Small, 
hsiao. 


Collect,  hoard, 
shii. 


Originally  a 
cobra  with  in- 
flated hood. 


See  No.  144. 


A  contracted 
form  of  this  is 
now  used. 


41st     Radical. 
See  No.  43. 


42d     Radical. 

See  No.  285. 


Crooked, 
deformed,        43d  Radical. 

wang. 


Corpse,         44th    Radical. 

sJiih.  See  No.  61. 


Foot-measure, 
chHh. 


Tail,  end, 
xmi. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXXVII, 


Shuo  Wen,      Modern  Meaning 

-        -      '        —  ana 

Sound. 


Classifier.         Form. 


Kemarks.  classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and  Remarks. 

Sound. 


t 


\^ 


r 


W 


I 


l\ 


I 


^ 


XX 
II 


M 


^ 


lU 


r 


M 


;il 


{{ 


(« 


Shuo  W^n :        oi        ^        n    ^ 
"That  on  which  ^'\°^>  ^""^  > 
the  foot  rests," 
U. 


action  ^  con- 
duct. 


Sprout,         45tii    RadicaL 
ch'ie.  See  No.  103. 


Hill,  mountain,    46th     Radical. 

shan  See  No.  93. 


Mountain  peak,    Obsolete    except 
V   *^  in     com b  1  n a- 

^  ■  tion. 


Mountain  range,  „,     ,  , 
Mn.  Obsolete. 


High  rugged 

peak, 

wei. 


River, 

ch  'uan. 


47th    Radical. 

See  No.  85. 


Brooklet,  Obsolete. 

kiuin.  Cf.  No.  85. 


Stream  30  miles 

lone  Obsolete. 

W'  Cf.  No.  85. 


Nest  on  a  tree,     Ifepicts  birds  in 


ch'ao,  tg'ao. 


a  nest  over  the 
sign  for  tree. 


± 


±: 


XX 
IX 


Labor,^work,      ^^^^     ^^^.^^^ 


I  „f,  1 .  Cf.  8th  classifier 

Leit-hanu,  ,     .,,  ,.    , 

,  '  under  4th  Rad- 

ical. 


Divination, 

magic,  Cf.  No.  369. 

vm. 


Very  skilful,      Obsolete. 
chan. 


p 

e. 

? 

e, 

^ 

e 

^ 

t 

(tl 

>1^ 

(^ 

^ 

0 

i 

4l 

y 

T 

— 1   ^T" 

?f 

g 

£ 

tt 

^4> 

r 

r 

m 

^ 

^f!^'  49tli    Radical. 


Horary  sign, 
9-11  A.  M.,       See  No.  329. 


Worm,  clap 

hands.  See  No.  57. 

pa. 


Head-kerchief, 
kin. 

SOtli    Radical 

See  No.  175. 

Pervade, 

tsa. 

Market, 

shih. 

See  No.  177. 

White  silk, 

po,  pel. 

Ragged, 
pi. 

Obsolete. 

Shield,  weapon,   51st    Radical. 
kan.  See  No.  216. 


Uvel,  even,      g^^  j.„  283. 
k  ten. 


Young,  tender,    52d      RacUcal. 

"„(,_  See  No.  330. 


Small,  fine,       See  No.  331. 
yu. 


Shed,  cover,       ''t  t^^'' 
yan,  yen. 


Change,  age, 

king. 


Chinese  Ideogkaphs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol,  IV. 


Plate  XXXVIIL 


Shuo  Wdn,       Modern  ^^nj"^ 

Classifier.         Form.  q        j 


Remarks. 


Shuo  WCn,       Modern 
Classifier.         Form. 


Meaning 

and 

Sound. 


Remarks. 


f* 

« 

^ 

k 

?£ 

^ 

f^ 

n 

i 

? 

? 

1? 

^t 

^ 

? 

f? 

?? 

I, 

1 

IT 

3 

%) 

k 

^ 

^^ 

tf 

)^ 

Unicorn, 
chai. 


Allied  to  No.  3. 


To  move  on,     54th    Radical. 

yin.  See  No.  315. 


To  go  steadily, 

slow, 

ch'ien,  eh'an. 


kung. 


Lance, 
t. 


Bow  (weapon), 
kung. 


55th    RadicaL 

See  also  under 
29th  Radical. 


56th  Radical  is 

not     a     Shuo 
\V6n  classifier. 


57th    Radical. 
See  No.  211. 


Bow-string, 

lisien. 


Twang  of 

a  bow, 

han. 


Strong, 
k'iang. 


Younger 

brother, 

ti. 


Swine  snout, 
ki. 


Carved  wood, 
lu. 


Stripes, 

feathers, 

shan. 


Writing,  sign, 

toen. 


From  "bow"  and 
"silk"  con- 
tracted. 


Obsolete. 


'Bow"     dupli- 
cated. 


58th    Radical. 

Cf.  No.  18. 


Supposed  to  de- 
pict carved 
lines. 


59th  Radical. 


Variant    of   No. 
279. 


u 

4 

H^ 

•C' 

f 

* 

i 

a 

A 

rt 

fi 

rf 

A 

R 

% 

p 

^ 

f 

4 

4 

A  \ 

1 



h 

n 

5t 

^''wiif '      60th    Radical. 

^^,.^'  See  No.  311. 


Heart,         61st    Radical. 

Asm.  See  No.  41. 


Think, 

consider, 

si'. 


Doubtful, 

80,  jui. 


Halberd,       62d      Radical. 

kim.  See  No.  213. 


Battle-axe, 

yo,  yUe. 


5th   of   the   Ten 
Battle-axe,  Stems.     Re- 

wu,  mou.  lates  to  earth. 

See  No.  214. 

1 lorary 

sign.  Not  same  as  No. 

7-9  p.  M.,  215. 

As«. 


See  No.  307. 


Window,       63d  Radical. 
hu.  See  No.  191. 


Hand, 

shou. 


Hand, 

shou. 


Substance, 
ts'ai. 


64th    Radical. 
See  No.  36. 


Obsolete  variant 
of  last. 


^'Z'''         65th  Radical. 


chih. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XXXIX. 


Sluio  W6n,       Modern  ^^^nd"^ 

Classifier.  Form.  ^^^^^_ 


Remarks. 


Sliuo  Wen,        Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Kemarks. 


^ 

i 

M 

*i 

i{ 

k 

t 

t 

i^ 

^ 

It 

^ 

t 

i 

n 

£ 

e 

g 

e 

^ 

4 

J: 

a 

e 

a 

m 

B^ 

Tap,ja,,,       66thRadical. 


Release, 
fang. 


Teach,  to  cause, 
kiao. 


Sign,  mark,     67th    Radical. 

wcH.  See  No.  27U. 


rt-  I      68th    Radical. 

Dipper,  peck,         g^^   j,,„      jg^ 

'""•  Cy.  No.  188.     ' 


■  69th     Radical 

,^^>  is  not  a   Sliuo 

*'"•  W6n  classifier. 


c  70th    Radical. 

^l'«'«'  Related  to  No. 

jang.  jgg 


r.,       ,         71st      Radical 
Vacant,  j^  „„j  ^  y,,,,^ 

""*•  W6n  classifier. 


Indigestion,      Reverse  of    76th 
ki.  Radical,  q.  v. 


Sun,  day,       72d      Radical. 

ji,  i.  See  No.  71. 


Sunrise, 
tan. 


'         See  No.  74. 


^p™®'  See  No.  259. 


Just  now,  this,  ggg  No.  302. 


Bright,  clear,     g^g  jj^,  77 


^ 

!& 
'^ 

« 

t=7 

8 

ee 

gb7 

t^ 

Q 

M 

l^ 

9 

^ 

>1 

^ 

4 

vl/ 

rn 

;iv 

s 

;fv 

A 

CD 

m 

C3 

^ 

CD 

-7^ 

To  change,  easy, 


Dawn, 

ch'&n. 


Quartz  crystal.  See  No.  75. 
clang. 


^^'         73d  Radical. 


^'°°Yii  '^"''  ^'^^  ^°-  309- 


To  congregate, 
hui. 


Moon,  month,    74thRadical. 
yue.  See  No.  72. 


Have,  hold.      Hand     grasping 
y«.  an  object. 


Tree,  wood, 
mu. 

75th    Radical. 

See  No.  97. 

Root,  origin, 
pin.' 

Not  yet,  horary 
sign  1-3  P.  M., 

See  No.  387. 

wa. 

Bind,  tie, 

shu,  su. 

Thorn, 

t>'-i. 

See  No.  125. 

^""IrnV""''     S?^  No,  121. 


Chinese  Ipsogkaphs, 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV, 


Plate  XL 


SIiuo  W^n,      Modem 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks.  ^huo  Wfn,       Modern  leaning 

Classifier.  Form.  „       j 

Sound. 


Remarks. 


* 


)T( 


B 


M[ 


^ 


a 


n 


u 


^ 


ll 


jk 


!¥- 


41 


m^ 


^ 

^K 


ri 


X 


yX 


1^ 


Grass-husk, 


Thrifty 

growth, 

p'o. 


Grove, 
tin. 


Flowers, 
p'i. 


Cruel, 
kie. 


Pendant  fniit, 
han. 


Pursuit,  trade, 


Varnish, 
ch'L 


See  No.  100. 


See  No.  101. 


See  No.  98. 


See  No.  99. 


Possibly  "men" 
impaled  on 
branches  of  a 
"tree." 


Depicts  fruit  on 
a  tree. 


"Tree"  and 
"water,"  i.  c, 
"  tree-sap." 


To  bind, 
hun,  kuii. 


Yawn,  weary, 

deficient, 

k'ien. 


Spittle, 
ch'ien,  yen. 


Drink, 

yin. 


Stop, 
ehih. 


Exact, 

chini/. 


Obsolete. 


76th  Radical. 
Keversed  form 
of  1st  classifier 
under  71st 
Radical. 

Obsolete.  See 
also  under  85th 
Radical. 


Obsolete. 


77th    Radical. 
See  No.  110. 


See  No.  fll. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


J:t 

fi 

^,5 

M 

5t 

fi^ 

^=t 

^ 

^ 

1^ 

t 

f 

^^ 

J:k: 

s 

^ 

4 

St 

4 

5 

^ 

-J// 

This,  here.       From    "man' 
ts'i.  and  "stop." 


Step, 
pu. 


See  No.  318. 


Bad, 

tai. 

78th  Radical. 

Dead,  die, 

si'. 

From  "man" 
and  "bad." 

To  bore  a  hole, 
clinn. 

A  long  spear, 
kill, 
.<Au. 

79th  Radical. 
"Man"  and 
"hand"  sug- 
gesting kill- 
ing. 

Kill, 
sha. 

Do  not,        80th    Radical. 

vm.  See  No.  383. 


Equal,         81st     Radical. 

pi.  See  No.  282. 


Animal  like  a 

hare.  Obsolete. 

ch'ue. 


Hai  r, 


Fur, 
Is'ui. 


See  No.  3.5. 


^•'"^Am""''    83d  Radical. 


Vapor,         84th    Radical. 

k'i.  See  No.  13G. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLI, 


Shuo  W6n, 
Classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Shuo  W§n,      Modern 
Classifier.         Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


s 

*./ 

'.^\ 

A<. 

u 

^ 

.'llli 

i& 

in 

t 

i 

l^ 

X 

^ 

% 

^ 

^ 

» 

■'1^ 

Water,         85th    RadicaL 

shui.  See  I^o.  84. 


Perpelual,       g^^  j^^   ggg 
yung. 


^]]^^'         Obsolete  plural. 
ch  ut.  *^ 


Spittle,  See    also     under 

ch'ien,  yen.  76th  radical. 


Water-spring,    g^^  j^o.  87. 
cA  «aji. 


Mingled 

waters,  Obsolete. 

Asim,  ch'iian. 


Fire,  86th    BadicaL 

Amo.  See  No.  81. 


To  roast,         "Flesh"      over 
chih.  "fire." 


Flame,  hot,      "Fire"     dupli- 
yen.  cated. 


cated. 
yen. 


Raven,         gge  No.  20. 

wu. 


The  bear, 

haluntj. 


To  cook, 
stove, 
te'uan. 


Obsolete.     See 
No.  171. 


The  swallow,        g^^  j^^  j^ 


m 

;^ 

X 

X 
X 

X 

XX 
XX 

AX. 

K 

)t 

^ 

f 

uy 

^ 

f 

7^ 

V 

^.i 

t 

t 

'r$^ 

-1. 

— t- 

i 

— 

± 

Claw, 

talons, 

cAao. 


Father, 


To  blend, 
yao. 


White 
cloth. 


Bed, 

ch'uang. 


Splinter, 
p'ien 


Tooth, 
ya. 


Cow,  ox,' 
niu. 


The  yak, 


Dog, 
k'iian. 


Skyblue, 
dark, 
hsiian. 


Lead, 

command, 

shuai. 


Jadestone, 
yil. 


King, 
■wanfj. 


87th    RadicaL 

See  No.  44. 


88th  Radical  is 
not  a  Shuo 
Wfin  classifier. 


89th  Radical. 


Depicts  textile 
fabric.  Obso- 
lete. 


90th     Radical 

is  not  a  Shuo 
W§n  classifier. 


91st     Radical. 

See  No.  341. 


92d      Radical. 

See  No.  51. 


93d     Radical. 

See  No.  5. 


94th    Radical. 

See  No.  7. 


95th  Radical. 


Depicts  a  banner 
as  sign  of  rank. 


96th    Radical. 

Cy.  No.  234. 


See  No.  234. 


Chinese  Ipeographs, 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLII. 


Shno  W6n,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Shuo  Wfin,         Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 

Sound. 


Bemarks. 


"T""^ 

5i- 

^ 

¥ 

A 

;lX 

ll\ 

fji. 

§> 

S. 

* 

^ 
t 

0 

if 

o/ 

4 

^ 

in 

LU 

(17 

0 

^ 

(^ 

'f 

^1^ 

"^ 

1 

M7 
P 

Jade  ornament,  Occurs    only    in 
kite.  proper  names. 


Lute,  violin,     See  No.  198. 
k'in. 


^elon,        97tji  Radical. 


Gourd, 
'Au. 


Tile,  98tli     Radical. 

wa.  See  No.  196. 


Flexible  thongs,  obsolete. 
Isun. 


Sweet,         99tli    Radical. 

kan.  See  No.  342. 


Produce,       100th  Radical. 

sUng.  See  No.  109. 


Use,  lOlst  Radical. 


yung. 


See  No.  344. 


Field,         102d    Radical. 

t'ien.  See  No.  184. 


Demon's  head,    r<f  354 


Fingernail,      ggg  jj,,  42. 
kia. 


Deity,  horary 

sign,  3-5  p.  M.,  See  No.  352. 
shSn. 


Human  male,     g^g  jj^   23. 
nan. 


V37 
VI7 

^ 

<« 

I 

^\^ 

i 

£ 

/t. 

r 

t 

lit 

/<- 

X 

^^ 

ti) 

vi; 

1! 

/L. 

f 

vi7 

ii 

^§ 

P4 

;t 

Adjacent  fields,  obsolete. 


Weedy  land,     Occurs  in  No.  23. 
chih. 


Strange,         ggg  j^^_  ^^r,_ 


Blessed,         Allied     to     No. 
fu.  358. 


Paint,  draw, 
hua. 


A  roll  of  cloth,  103d  Radical. 

p'l. 


104th  Radical. 

Sick,  "Man"   on   a 

„,-.  '  "bed."       Cf. 

No.  154. 


Back  to  back, 
opposed,        105tli  Radical. 
po. 


Water  soaking    10th  stem,  relat- 

into  the  ground,      ing    to    north 

kuei.  and  water. 


White  loeth  Radical. 

■  '  Depicts    white 

^  ■  of  the  eye. 


Form,  gee  No.  46. 

mao. 


Dark  gray, 
drab, 

tsao. 


T,       ,       ,     ,      "Hundred  "du- 
Two  hundred,        ^^,5^^,^^,      y^. 

^  ■  solete. 


Rawhide,        jQ7^jj  Radical. 

p  I. 


Chinese  Ideograph.^. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLIII, 


Shuo  Wen,       Modern  Meaning 

Classifier.         Form.  „ """, 

•  bound. 


Dish, 


Eye, 
mu. 


Eye-brows, 
mei. 


'71^ 

M 

i 

f 

fk 

4 

1 

i 

1 

i 

-fi. 

ee 

91 

^ 

f 

n 

'^ 

/s 

^ 

n 

*,f 

P\ 

^*? 

4; 

Shield, 
tun,  shun. 


To  look  up, 
hsie. 


Behead  (?), 


Timid, 
kii. 


To  look  right 

and  left, 

kil. 


Lance, 
mao. 


A  rrow, 

sink. 


Stone, 
shift. 


Heaven's 

influence, 

si. 


Foot-print, 
track, 
jou. 


Growing  crops, 
/ifi,  htio. 


Remarks. 


108th  RadicaL 

See  No.  155. 


109th  Radical. 

See  No.  3L 


See  No.  49. 


See  No.  232. 


Obsolete. 


Obsolete. 


Bird's  eyes. 


Two  eyes. 


110th  Radical. 

See  No.  220. 


111th  Radical. 

See  No.  212. 


112th  Radical. 

See  No.  96. 


113th  Radical. 

See  No.  353. 


114th  Radical. 


115th  Radical. 

See  No.  118. 


Shuo  wen. 
Classifier. 


Modem 
Form. 


?? 


n 


X 


f^ 


4 


ti 


J 


7T 


ft 


li 


*l 


'k 


M 


T 


Meaning 

and  Remarks. 

Sound. 


Bald,  bare, 
I' It. 


Rare,  seldom. 


Investigate, 
ki. 


Cave,  116th  Radical. 

/(.sw«.  See  No.  194. 


Set  up,  stand,     117th  Radical. 
li.  See  No.  320. 


Two  abrea,st,      g^g  jjo.  321. 
ping. 


Crime, 
misfortune, 


^i 


f 


^ 


m 


Bamboo, 


Sinew, 
kin. 


118th  Radical. 
See  No.  117. 


Winnowing 

fan,  See  No.  183. 

ki. 


Shelled  grain,     119th  Radical. 
„„•  See  No.  124. 


A  grain 

measure, 

hui. 


Silk, 

mi. 


Connect,  bind, 
hsi. 


Obsolete. 


120th  Radical. 

See  No.  134. 


Chinkse  Idkographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLIV. 


Shuo  W6n, 
Classifier. 


Modern 
Form. 


i 


PI 


¥ 


^ 
# 


^ 


^ 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Sliuo  W^n,        Modem 
Classifier.  Form. 


I 


f& 


&. 


[^ 


¥ 


If 


i 


^ 


f 


White  silk 

lace,  Cy.  No.  134. 


Silk  thread,      „     „ 

si.  See  No.  135. 


Pottery,  jar,     121st  Radical. 

foil.  See  No.  158. 


Net,  122d    Radical. 

wang.  See  No.  165. 


Sheep,  goat,     123d    Radical. 

yang.  See  No.  6. 


Odor  of  goats, 

rancid,  A  flock  of  goats. 

shan. 


Long  feathers,    124tli  Radical. 
yii.  See  No.  45. 


Constant  flight, 

to  practice, 

hsi. 


^^^'  fa""""'''  ^25tli  Radical. 


( Now  a  conjunc- 
Whiskers,  tion.)  See  No. 

&•.  38. 


Spring  up.       Sprout    with 
cause,  roots.     (Not 

luan.  from  last. ) 


P|-.  127th  Radical. 


Ear,  128tli  Radical. 

6r.  See  No.  32. 


Stylus,  pen,      129th  Radical. 
2/«.  See  No.  202. 


m 

f 

^ 

>i,i* 

fe 

6t: 

g 

S 

Q 

s 

m 

BA 

a 

Si 

ti 

i 

© 

^ 

^ 

I 

e 

& 

ts* 

^ 

r. 

^^ 

* 

4 

Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Bamboo  brush 


Bemarks. 


'  Obsolete. 


Flesh,         130th  Radical. 

jou.  See  No.  54. 


Natu.1  abil-     OS  S5 
ity,  able,  ^^^^  ^-^^  ^^^ 

"^"i'-  bear. 


Prime  Min- 
ister, 
ch'Sn. 


131st  Radical. 

See  No.  239. 


Chin, 

i. 


Kecline,  rest, 

wd,  ngo. 


Moral, 

worthy, 
hsien. 


Nose,  self,      132d    Radical. 

tgi.  See  No.  269. 


Head,  Obsolete  form  of 

shou.  No.  29. 


Unto,  towards,    ,„_,  .,    ,.     , 
chih.  133d  Radical. 


Mortar, 
kiu. 


Kiln, 
kii. 


134th  Radical. 

See  No.  200. 


See  No.  201. 


Offer,  lift  up,     Perhaps    related 
yil-  to  No.  346. 


Tongue,        135th  Radical. 

sId.  See  No.  56. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLV. 


Sliuo  WCn,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Slum  Wen,        Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sonnd. 


Remarks. 


n 


n 


^ 


119 


ts 


^ 


f 


T 


AA 


y^^J 


^4 


til 


4 


t 


H 


Oppose<l, 

perverse,        136tli  Radical. 

ch'tian. 


Tangled 

brush, 

thicket, 

shun. 


13 


#1 


f 


k 


Boat, 
ship, 

chou. 


Root, 

ken. 


Color, 

lust, 

shei,  she. 


Grass,  plants, 

leaves, 

Is'ao. 


Illicit, 

kou. 


Clover, 
mu. 


Herbs 

(generic), 

maii(j. 


137tli  Radical. 

See  No.  170. 


138th    Radical 

is   not  a  Shiio 
Wen  classifier. 


139tli  Radical. 


140tli  Radical. 

See  No.  104. 


1\ 


2^ 


$ 


« 


Obsolete  variant 
of  No.  11.5. 


Goat's 
horns, 
huan. 


Flowers, 
glory, 
hua. 


Horned  owl, 
huan. 


Sprouts, 
ju. 


Origin  obscure. 


See  No.  106. 


"Horns"  (not 
"grass")  over 
"bird." 


J 


„.  141st  Radical. 

T'ger,  Variant    of 


Att. 


!l^ 


]\ 


* 


X 


(^ 


i\ 


No.  2. 


I- 


^f7 


Itun. 


A 


ii 


k 


^f 


Tiirer  Same  as  last.  See 

L  '  No.  2. 


Sacrificial 

vase,  Obsolete. 

hsi. 


Tiger  rampant, 

yen,  hsien.        vusoieie. 


rB7 


^5 


^ 


m 


Worm, 
insect, 
ch'ung. 


Reptiles, 
k'un. 


142d    Radical. 

See  No.  11. 


"Worm"  du- 
plicated, sug- 
gesting a  fari^er 
class  of  ani- 
mals. 


"Worm"  or  "in- 
Insects  sect"     tripli- 

(generic),  cated,  suggest- 

eh'ung.  ing  large  num- 

bers. 


Blood, 

hide. 


143d    Radical. 

See  No.  55. 


'^°  f '         144th  Radical. 

hZ}.  SeeNo.317. 


Cloak,         145th  Radical. 

i.  See  No.  166. 


Skin 

garments, 

kHa. 


A  cover, 

lid,  146th  Radical. 

hsia. 


West, 
hsi. 


See  No.  122. 


See,  look,       i47tii  Radical. 
*-■'«"•  See  No.  267. 


Look, 
yao. 


Obsolete, 


Chinese  Ideographs, 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol,  IV. 


Plate  XLVI. 


Shuo  Wfin,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Shuo  W6n,       Modern 
Classifier.         Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Bemarkg. 


(k 

ll 

^ 

^ 
a 

it 

^ 

# 

i 

g 

s. 

2. 

^ 

1^ 

i 

t 

1^ 

flf 

1 

^ 

f 

^ 

ri 

Horn,  148th  Radical. 

kiao,  kiie.  See  No.  60. 


Speech,         149tli  Radical. 

yen.  See  No.  i76. 


Dispute,         "Words"    vs 
king.  "Words." 


^'""'^Ar*^'"^'   150th  Radical. 


Laughter,        obsolete. 
Kue,  kiu. 


Stemmed  dish, 

tou. 


Why,  how, 
k'L 


Plenty,  rich, 
fing. 


shih. 


151st  Radical. 

See  No.  156. 


See  No.  323. 


152d    Radical. 

CJ.  No  18. 


shih. 


Pig,  pork, 
I  'un. 


Elephant, 
hsiang. 


Unicorn, 
chai. 


Shell,  value, 
j)ei. 


Variant   of  last. 
See  No.  18. 


Synonym  of  last. 


See  No.  1. 


153d    Radical. 

See  No.  10. 


154th  Radical. 

See  No.  132. 


-®- 

f 

^ 

^ 

^ 

± 

A. 

£ 

;i 

^ 

1 

I 

i 

f 

^ 

f 

p 

jef 

m 

^1 

4 

i. 

^A 

O 

& 

t^ 

i 

To  string,  con-    Contracted   form 
C:  of  No.  336. 


Red, 
ch'ih. 


To  go,  walk, 
'sou. 


155th  Radical. 

"Great"    and 
"fire." 


156th  Radical. 

See  No.  316. 


Foot,  157th  Radical. 

<si^  See  No.  37. 


Body, 
sh&n. 


158th  Radical. 

See  No.  28. 


Chariot,  cart,     159th  Radical. 

cA'^.  See  No.  206. 


Bitter, 
hsin. 

160th  Radical 

See  No.  343. 

Prince, 

pi. 

Adversaries  in 
court,  debate. 

pien,  p'ien. 

Morning, 

horary  sign, 

ch'Sn. 

161st  Radical 

To  run, 
eho. 

162d   Radical. 

See  No.  312. 

City, 

i. 

163d    Radical. 

See  No.  249. 

(Meaning  and     Usedonlyin 
sound  un-  combination, 

known. ) 

Amphora, 
horary  sign,  5-7  164th  Radical. 

p.  M.,  See  No.  172. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLVII. 


Sliiio  WCn,        iModem 
Classifier.  Form. 


^LS, 


M 


ii 


7£f 


n 


t 


m 


i^ 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Rernnrks. 


Slino  Wen, 
Classifier. 


1 


^ 


f 


Old  wine,  ripe,   Derived      from 
ch'iu.  last. 


To  sort  out,      165th  Radical. 
pien.  See  jS'o.  348. 


Village,  third 
of  a  mile,        166th  Radical. 
li. 


Heavy, 

chung. 


Metal,         167th  Radical. 

km.  See  No.  82. 


n 


+ 


n 


a 


tit 


li 


Long, 
ch'ang. 


Door, 
man. 


168th  Radical. 


169th  Radical. 

See  No.  169. 


Mound,        170th  Radical. 

fou.  See  No.  193. 


Depression  l)e- 

tween  moimds.    Obsolete. 


fou,  f  II. 


171st  Radical. 
Overtake,  Depicts 

lot.  "hand"  grasp- 

ing "tail." 


Short-tailed 

birds,  172d    Radical. 

chui.'  See  No.  13. 


Birds  chattering,  "Bird"      dupli 
wrangle,  cated. 

ch  'ou. 


Flock  of  birds, 

tm,  Iso.    '      Obsolete. 


K"'"-  173d    Radical. 

y-  See  No.  89. 


7? 


t 


? 


f 


1© 


Si. 


<ft 


t 


Modern 
Form. 


ta^ 


Jl 


# 


5 


I 


Meaning 

and 

Sound. 


Cloud, 
yiln. 


Remarks. 


See  No.  90. 


Red>clear>skv"f*^.?t^dical 

color>blue-  '  ('-■■'i '"b' tB    a 

^   ""^  curious  succes- 

^.""f.^"'  sion  of   mean- 

"*  '"»•  ings). 


Not  right,  not,  175th  Radical. 
fei.  See  No.  380. 


a 


i 


S 


i 


Face, 


Leather, 
i(?,  kei. 


176th  Radical. 

See  No.  30. 


177th  Radical. 


At 


i$L 


1^ 


t 


Leather  thongs,  178th  Radical. 

wei.  See  No.  197. 


Leeks,         179th  Radical. 
kiu.  See  No.  116. 


Sound,  note,     180th  Radical. 

yin.  See  No.  277. 


Head,  book-leaf,  jg^^^    Radical. 


Ought, 
Itsii. 


Urgent, 
p'in. 


^2JJ,'''         182d  Radical. 


To  fly,         183d  Radical. 

fei.  See  No.  63. 


Foo<l,  oat, 
shih. 


184th  Radical. 


Chinese  Idkogkaphs. 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  XLVIII- 


Shuo  Wfn,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


Shuo  Wfin,       Modern 
Classifier.  Form. 


Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Remarks. 


m 


^ 


? 


fol 


^^ 


n 


o 

m 


IS 


-iA^ 


V3 


iTtp 


V^ 


1^ 


# 


P5 


t 


w 

m 


5|i5 


^ 

ii<» 


^ 
;* 


Head, 
shou. 


185th  Radical. 

See  No.  20. 


Incense,         186tli   Radical 

fragrant,  is  not  a   Shuo 

hsUing.  Wen  classifier. 


Horse,  187tli  Radical. 

ma.  See  No.  4. 


Bone, 


High, 
kao. 


Redoubt, 
kuo. 


188tli  Radical. 


189tli  Radical. 

See  No.  305. 


Space  between 
inner  and  outer 
city  gates. 
Modern  form 
has  "city" 
added. 


Human  hair,      190tll  Radical. 
piao.  See  No.  40. 


Wrangle, 
tou. 


191st  Radical. 

Depicts 
"liands"  con- 
tending. 


Ghost,  spirits,    192d  Radical. 
ch'ang.  See  No.  370. 


Large  incense      jgg^     Radical. 

^jn'ff'  See  No.  373. 


Variant  of  last. 


Demon, 

kuei. 


Fish, 
yu. 


194th  Radical. 

See  No.  354. 


195th  Radical. 

See  No.  8. 


Large  fish        intensive  of  last, 
(generic),  obsolete. 

yu. 


mr 


5^ 


m 


n 


1 

"7 


I'll 


^1 

iZZL 


lie 
/it 


^. 


a4 


:5? 


/t^l^ 


^17 
/  > 


4 


/4^ 


t 


i^^ 


Long-tailed      igeth  Radical. 
bird  (generic).       See  No.  12. 
niao. 


Salt,  rude,      197th  Radical. 
lu,_  See  No.  133. 


Salt,  Synonym  of  last. 

yen. 


Deer,  stag,      198th  Radical. 

;^_  See  No.  3. 


Fleet,  timid,     Herd  of  deer. 

Is'u. 


Wheat,        i99tii  Radical. 

«iai,  met. 


Hemp,  fla.\,     200th  Radical. 

ma. 


Yellow,        201st  Radical. 
hvMng. 


Tall  millet, 
growing, 

shu. 


202d    Radical. 


ft^         203d    Radical. 


To  embroider,    204th  Radical. 

cidh.  See  No.  180. 


Toad,         205th  Radical. 

min,  meng.  See  No.  9. 


Small  incense    joeth  Radical. 

t".!'*^'  See  No.  304. 

wnjf. 


I^^um-         207th  Radical. 


Chinese  Ideographs, 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol  IV 


Plate  XLIX. 


Shiio  W6n,     Modern 
Classifier.       Form. 


^ 

(J 

^ 

^ 

1 

^ 

^ 

w. 

m 

Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Bemarks. 


Shuo  W6n,     Modern 
Classifier.       Form. 


Rat,  mouse,     208th.  Radical. 

shu.  See  No.  21. 


Nose,  209th  Radical. 

pi.  See  No.  33. 


Growing 
millet,         210th  Radical. 

chH.  See  No.  119. 


Front  teeth,     211th  Radical. 

ch'ih.  See  No.  52. 


II 

t 

?:9 

/7 

iii 

Meaning 

and 
Sound. 


Bemarks. 


Dragon, 
lung.  212th  Radical. 


Tortoise,       213th  Radical. 

kuet.  See  No.  10. 


Fife,  organ, 
yiie. 


214th  Radical. 


Chinese  Ideographs. 


CHALFANT:  EARLY  CHINESE   WRITING  19 

seem  to  be  groundless.  It  is  unsafe  to  place  absolute  confidence  in  all  of  the 
etymologies  of  the  Shuo  Wen,  but  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  great  error  to  treat  it, 
as  has  been  done  by  some,  as  throughout  unreliable.  Even  the  compilers  of  the 
Kanghsi  Dictionary  had  their  doubts  about  many  of  the  conclusions  of  the  Shuo 
Wen,  as  will  appear  by  a  perusal  of  that  work.  Still  upon  the  whole  it  seems  to 
have  merited  the  approval  of  that  able  corps  of  scholars. 

There  are  in  existence  more  than  one  version  of  the  Shuo  Wen,  which  show  pro- 
nounced variations  in  the  text.  This  divergence  in  readings  is  probably  due  to  the 
several  versions  having  been  derived  from  early  independent  transcriptions  of  the 
original  manuscript.  What  is  needed  is  a  revision  of  the  text,  after  careful  com- 
parison of  the  extant  versions,  by  a  corps  of  Chinese  and  foreign  scholars,  along  the 
lines  of  textual  criticism.  To  cite  an  example  of  divergence  in  readings,  the  defini- 
tion of  a  certain  ancient  measure  is  variously  given  in  two  versions,  the  discrepancy 
being  so  great  iis  to  leave  the  reader  unable  to  determine  the  intended  dimensions. 
Some  error  in  copying  is  likely  the  cause  of  this  variation,  but  just  when  and  where 
it  occurred  is  the  question. 

There  are  also  instances  where  the  definition  is  irreconcilable  with  subsequent 
meanings  of  a  symbol.  This  leads  the  student  to  suspect  that  an  early  copyist  has 
substituted  another  character  for  the  one  intended.  This  kind  of  error  is  easily 
made  in  a  language  in  which  the  addition  or  omission  of  a  single  stroke  may  ma- 
terially alter  the  significance  of  a  symbol. 

Another  source  of  error  may  be  in  the  imperfections  of  the  original  manuscript, 
for  it  is  a  matter  of  tradition  that  the  Shuo  Wen  was  published  after  the  death  of 
the  author,  thus  embodying  in  the  text  some  inadvertent  errors  which  a  review  by 
the  author  might  have  eliminated. 

The  Chinese  commentators  of  the  Shuo  Wen  have  themselves  made  some  in- 
genious surmises  in  their  efforts  to  reconcile  textual  contradictions,  and  in  many 
instances  are  free  to  admit  that  there  must  be  errors  of  long  standing  in  the  extant 
versions.  Combine  the  ability  of  the  European  textual  critic  with  the  accumulated 
knowledge  of  the  Chinese  antiquarian,  and  some  of  the  knotty  questions  might  find 
a  solution. 

In  Plates  XXX.  to  XLIX.,  inclusive,  I  have  given  a  list  of  the  five  hundi-ed  and 
forty  "classifiers,"  which  in  the  opinion  of  the  author  of  the  Shuo  Wen  is  the  basis  of 
the  later  written  language.  To  the  form  given  in  the  Shuo  Wen  I  have  appended  the 
equivalent  modern  form  together  with  the  English  definition  and  the  pronuncia- 
tion. These  symbols  have  been  arranged  so  as  to  fall  under  the  successive  radicals 
as  now  accepted  by  modern  lexicographers. 


20  MEMOIRS  OF  THE   CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 

III.     THE  ROYAL  EDICT  CONFIRMING   THE   DOMAIN  OF  SAN.'^' 

Upon  the  following  pages  is  shown  a  fac-simile  of  this  edict,  as  given  by  Juan  Yiian 
in  his  work  on  Old  Inscriptions,  together  with  a  transliteration  into  the  modern  char- 
acter, and  an  attempt  at  translation.^  According  to  Juan  Yiian  this  remarkable  text 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  symbols  was  engraved  upon  a  brass  tripod  originally 
in  the  collection  of  the  Hsii  (^^)  family  of  Yang  Chow  (^|>H)  but  later  (A.  D.  1803) 
in  the  collection  of  one  Hung  (j*^),  presumably  of  the  same  city.  It  is  accepted  as 
genuine  by  the  scholar  Juan  Yiian,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  discriminating  student  of 
old  inscriptions.  He  suggests  that  the  Edict  may  date  back  to  the  reign  of  Wu  Wang 
^  i  (I^-  0.  1122).  The  style  of  this  inscription  is  in  semi-cursive  character  with 
but  few  carefully  executed  symbols.  Contractions  and  variations  are  numerou.s,  as 
will  appear  by  compai'ing  the  symbols  which  occur  more  than  once. 

Some  of  the  symbols  show  an  arrangement  of  their  component  parts  (juite  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  their  present  form,  such  as  ^  for  ±nt  ;  ^  for  ^  ;  A  for  ^^. 

Others  are  still  in  the  pictographic  state,  such  as:  J)  (^),  "moon"  ;  ^  (|^), 
"  hoi-se  ";  ^  (-f ),  "  son  "  ;  ^  (Q),  "  eye  "  ;  f  (2.),  "  stemmed  dish  "  (here  a  man's 
name);  ^  (,^),  "ca[)ital  city,"  showing  the  tower  over  the  city  gate;  ^  (^), 
"  well,"  with  the  mouth  still  in  place  ;  and  a  fairly  good  pair  of  doors  in  p^  (p^), 
"  gate." 

The  symbol  ^  i  "public"  occurs  thrice  in  such  strange  forms  (^  ^  ^)  that  it 
raises  a  question  as  to  its  derivation  from  ^  iclj  unless^  (old  formof  ?('o)  has  become 
mere  scroll-work  in  the  old  cursive  style. 

The  text  may  be  regarded  as  rightly  belonging  to  the  early  date  ascribed  to  it, 
and  I  see  no  reason  for  suspecting  it  as  a  forgery. 

We  know  from  history  that  Wu  Wang  established  the  Chou  Dynasty  )|],  B.  C. 
1122;    that  he  set  nine  ministers  over  his  realm,  one  of  whom  was  San  I-sheng 

The  instrument  is  executed  in  the  form  of  an  indenture,  with  description  of 
land  and  names  of  adjacent  landholders  as  in  modern  Chinese  deeds.  The  unusual 
feature  is  the  oath  taken  by  the  king  and  the  go-betweens  to  secure  the  rights  of  the 
clan  or  family  of  San.  An  incidental  proof  of  antiquity  is  the  form  of  the  date, 
which  sliows  the  cycle-signs  in  use  for  days  of  the  month'^  instead  of  the  later  usage 

'^  For  coDvenience  this  may  lie  flesi<;iiated  "  The  San  Edict." 

"  This  is  but  a  tentative  translation,  for  a  minute  study  of  local  geography  ami  history  is  necessary  to  throw  light 
upon  many  points  otherwise  obscure. 

*8The  first  year  of  the  26th  cycle  coincides  with  B.  C.  1137.  This  was  designated  by  ^  ^.  B.  C.  112.  was 
2  Op-  Here  we  find  L,  Op,  which  is  the  fifty-second  year  of  the  cycle  and  falls  outside  the  reign  of  Wu  Wang 
(B.  C.  1122-1115).     Either  the  assnmed  reign  is  incorrect,  or  else  the  date- mark  applies  to  a  day  and  not  to  a  year. 


CHALFANT:    EARLY   CHINESE  WRITING  21 

to  designate  years.  This  peculiarity,  together  with  the  general  style  of  writing, 
suggest  a  period  at  or  near  that  of  the  "tortoise-shell"  inscriptions  referred  to  here- 
after. The  inscription  was  presumably  on  the  body  of  the  tripod,  and  in  case  it 
covered  the  entire  surface,  the  vessel  must  have  been  at  least  three  feet  in  circum- 
ference. So  heavy  a  bronze  object  would  be  hard  to  destroy,  and  this  may  account 
for  its  having  survived  the  ravages  of  time. 

The  habit  of  inscribing  bronze  vessels  and  implements  was  in  vogue  among  the 
Chinese  at  a  very  early  date.  Inscriptions  upon  sacrificial  vessels  are  usually  in 
conventional  language,  affording  no  valuable  historical  data.  Halberd-heads  often 
have  a  single  symbol  engraved  or  embossed  upon  the  butt,  such  as  that  for  halberd, 
war,  army,  lightyiing.  Others  have  two  or  more  characters  giving  names  of  cities, 
which  may  be  trade-marks.  Numerals  and  dates  frequently  occur  on  swords,  hal- 
berds, and  cross-bow  triggers,  which  are  supposed  to  be  check-marks  made  by  the 
inspector  of  arms.  Old  bronze  hatchets  and  chisels  sometimes  have  marks  cut  into 
the  surface,  probably  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  ownership.  In  general,  very 
few  Chinese  inscriptions  of  ancient  date  afford  any  information  of  moment. 
In  view  of  this,  the  San  Edict  stands  almost  alone  as  an  inscription  furnishing 
definite  information,  unless  we  except  the  Standard  Weights  and  Measures  of 
Ch'in  Shih  Huang-ti  (B..C.  240-230),  upon  which  was  inscribed  the  edict  for  uni- 
formity with  the  reign  and  year.  Should  it  be  proved  that  the  date  affixed  to 
the  San  Edict  is  a  cycle  year-sign,  then  it  must  be  later  than  the  reign  of  Wu  Wang, 
and  its  purport  would  be  the  confirmation  of  title  to  a  domain  presumably  acquired 
at  an  earlier  date. 

In  passing  it  may  be  noted  that  the  Chinese  cycle  consists  of  a  period  of  sixty 
years.  Each  year  has  a  distinguishing  title  called  the  "year  sign,"  which  is  com- 
posed of  two  characters  selected  from  the  twenty-two  signs  known  as  the  Ten  Stems 
and  Twelve  Branches.  CJhinese  chronology  is  based  upon  the  succession  of  the 
cycles.  The  first  year  of  the  first  cycle  coincides  with  the  year  2637  B.  C,  com- 
puted from  known  dates  in  Chinese  history. 

There  is,  however,  some  doubt  as  to  the  exact  period  when  the  cycle-system  was 
adopted  for  fixing  the  succession  of  years,  and  there  is  much  to  warrant  the  suppo- 
sition that  the  cycle-signs  were  in  use  for  days  long ,  before  they  became  current  as 
year-signs.  The  late  Dr.  Edkins  was  of  the  opinion  that  these  twenty-two  symbols 
were  chronological  signs  imported  from  Babylonia  at  a  very  early  time.  Just  what 
his  proofs  were  I  am  unable  to  state. 


22  MEMOIRS  OF  THE   CARNEGIE  MUSEUM 


TRANSLATION. 
Confirmation  of  the  vast  territory  ^'  San-I,**  being  tiie  domain  now  enjoyed  by  the  said  San.    Beginning  at  the  Hsien 
and  T'ao  Rivers,  thence  south  to  the  Ta  Kn  River,  a  land-marl;  ;^'  thence  down  stream  by  two  land  marks  to  a  row  of 
willows  ;  again  down  the  T'ao  and  Hsien  rivers  to  Yii  Ch'a'^  and  (?)  Mei  ;'^  thence  west,  bonnded  by  Po''  Ch'eng 
(city)  to  an  apple  tree ;  thence 


»  «  a  1.  »i     A  !<f  —  X''  ?r 
*  *  *"  a  r    ^  -Vh  ^  I/'t  M. 

t  }f  I  '^^  f 


f   1  M  -M  t. 

it  n  f^  "^  e* 

M  i*  4  i    gj! 

f  i4  \B 


29 1^  here  means  "territory,"  an  unusual  sense,  now  obsolete  (c/.  Kanghsi).  , 

3"  "  I  "  (S)  is  "judicial  district "  (now  a  county),  so  San-I  is  the  jurisdiction  of  San. 

"  "  Landmark  "  (-^  )  piao,  was  originally  a  bush  or  tree  marking  farm  lands.    Kangsbi  illustrates  it :  "  To  set  a  tree 
as  a  piao  "  {JL  ^  fy  =«.).     Here  the  symbol  is  a  pictograph  (^).     It  seems  to  have  also  a  verbal  meaning. 


2  "^ 

■5 


)=K  and   (7)   |2|^.     Probably  local  names.     The  symbol  ^  has  not  been  deciphered. 


'Old  form  of  ii  po.     The  only  geographical  name  cited  under  this  by  Kanghsi  is  "  Marsh  in  Yii  Chon.' 


CHALFANT:    EARLY  CHINESE   WRITING 


23 


along  waste  lands,'*  bounded  by  a  road,  through  [said  lands]  up  a  cliff  by  a  pool ;  thence  across  So  Mei  Ling  and 
Kang-So  '»  along  a  path,  and  thence  by  the  former  road  to  the  highway  ;  thence  east,  bounded  by  Ts'i's  eastward  line, 
turning  to  the  right  to  a  boundary  road  ;  thence  south 


2  m 
5s 

4 

^ 

* 

f 

k 

ii 

iH 

J 

A 

i£ 

J 

iVv 

it 

1 

f  7 

4 

ii 

* 

f 

yk 

f 

If. 

>* 

if 
1 

t 

'•"Wasteland 

B":^^ 

to    ^  "thistle." 

Both  c 

^ 

t 

J 

r 

r 

•/J 

f 

4 

^^ 

*■) 

it 

^r 

'  r^ 

}k 

PI 

fk 

^^ 

135 


9^ 

r 


J 


700 


t*) 


""Wastelands"'^     A^.    This  is  a  guess.     The  expression  is  obscure.     Ji  may  mean  "dry  grass  "  and  be  allied 
Both  clyiracters  have  other  meanings  that  are  inapplicable  here.     'S^    (^)    resembles    ^  (a.) 
ai,  "artemisia."     Full  form  for  ^  's^-     Here  contracted. 

^'  4^  pR  P'^  (So  Mei  Ling)  and  gji]  ;^^  (Kang  So)  are  probably  local  names  of  ridges, 


24:  MEMOIKS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


hounded  by  the  Ki  Lai'^  road  ;  theuce  west  to  the  line  o(  Hung  Mu's  land  to  the  Government  Land  Plot, ''  and  from 
a  poplar  tree  on  the  left  of  the  road  up  to  said  Government  Plot  eastward,  along  a  road  as  boundary,  to  a  landmark  ; 
turning  westward  along  and  down  Kang  past  three  landmarks,  and  thence  south  to  the  highway  down  by  Chou'* 


^  "~  £  1^  il 

m  )^  jt  ^^  *^ 

ii  \m  >^  ^  I 

1^  -  J*.  li  J 


'*-!??  %^  ^^^  \m)  is  obscure.     I  take  it  as  a  local  name. 

"Government  land- plot  (^  P,  W)  refers  to  the  ancient  government  reservation  of  100  Mow  (acres)  out  of  every 
900.  Land  was  divided  into  nine  plots,  thus  ^.  The  reservation  was  in  the  center  and  was  described  by  the  sign 
it,  which  soon  coalesced  with  the  symbol  for  "  well" 

'*The  significance  of  the  terms  "Chou"  and  "Kang"  (see  next  page)  is  uncertain.  The  former  is  usually  a 
"judicial  district,"  hut  here  it  seems  to  have  special  meaning,  e.  g.,  personal  name. 


CHALFANT:    EARLY   CHINESE   WRITING  25 

aad  Kang,  asoending  So  (a  ridge)  aad  dowo  to  a  thicket  aud  two  land-marks,  across  the  holdings  of  the  Yu  Si''  and 
honorable  elders,*"  Fang  Wu-fu,"  Hsi  Kung,"  Hsiang,  Ton,  across  Yii  K'ao,  Lu  Chfing,  clan  of  Shih,  the  private  gate- 
way (?)  of  Yu  Hsiang,  across  Ts'i  Yuan,  across  Yii,  ^S  (unidentified  name),  Huai,  Superintendent  of  Works  Hu  Hsiao, 

(?)  Feng  Fu,  ^  f  X. 

'5    ^s    i    i 


ii  r^   $    k"" 

m    m    ^    ^^ 
X    X     i^    X 


«" 


"Yn-81  (;^  a])  "•petty  officers,"  "retainers."  These  officers  comprised  inspectors  and  superintendents  of  many 
departments  under  a  feudal  lord. 

'"I  venture  to  translate  i  ^£  (i-tau)  as  "honorable  elders,"  analogous  to  -^  j^j^  of  like  meaning.  /fj[ 
usually  means  "ancestor."     The  expression  "i-tau"  may  possibly  be  a  name. 

*' ^  ^  (wu-fu)  is  cited  by  Kanghsi  as  a  recognized  title,  hnt  not  deflaed.  Itonght  to  mean  "knight  "  or  "man 
at  arms."  Here  it  is  likely  a  title,  -^y^  (fivng)  means  "  release,"  but  ought  to  stand  for  a  man's  name.  Kanghsi 
cites  no  case  of  such  usage,  and  Juan  Yiian  substitutes  another  symbol  without  textual  authority. 

*^i5  S  ''*'  ^"■"ff  'S  "  West  Palace  "  and  naually  refers  to  the  Harem.  Here  it  may  be  a  personal  name,  or  it  may 
signify  that  the  following-named  persons  were  eunuchs,  who  as  a  class  have  great  power  at  Court. 

*' Unidentified  symbols  not  found  in  Kangsi. 


26 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


Hung,  and  also  Superintendent  of  Punishments  K'ao  Wei,  in  all  fifteen  officers.  These  immediately  adjacent  to  San's 
domain  are  :  Inspector  of  Land  Pi  Chou,  Inspector  of  Cavalry  Tan,  Chief  Herdsman  and  Superintendent  of  Works  Tun 
Kiiin,  Tsai  Te  fu,  and  hordering  on  the  lands  of  San  and  the  imperial**  domain,**  Wu  Tuan-fu,  Kiao  (?)  *'  Fn    .    .    .  ** 


^  f   111 


/> 


^    ^'   ^ 
:^   m^  4^ 


y^ 


% 
HK 


1 

•5-    r, 


"5 


>l  (f>  ^  J<  -^ 
-f^  <$!  !'.'<  f  =  ^ 

^i     ^    ¥  I  *^ 


1 


i\\ 


n 
\ 


9 


**This  and  the  preceding  descriptive  term  are  perplexing.  '^  KB  (kiug-ti'en)  means  "  to  bound  land  "  as  else- 
where in  this  indenture.  The  preceding  expression,  Hdao  tsi,  is  an  obsolete  term  of  self-depreciation  used  by  an 
emperor,  literally  meaning  "little  child." 

*'The  symbol  !^  is  quite  distinct,  but  is  not  found  in  Kanghsi. 

**The  unknown  sign  ^i^  is  descriptive  like  \A  on  page  28  and  may  be  the  same.     Both  are  followed  by  the  i)os 
sessive  j^  and  thus  modify  the  following  word. 


CHALFANT:   EARLY  CHINESE   WRITING 


27 


Officer  (?)"  Chou-King  (|  >H  y,),  Yu  Ts'ung  (?)  *«  Wei  {'^  O),  San's  retainers  to  the  number  of  ten.  Now  the 
King,  in  the  Ninth  Moon,  Ch'en-Kia"  I-Mao,™  makes  oath  before  [his]  Honorable  Elders  and  Select  Bannermen,'' 
saying,  "We  confer  upon  the  Clan  of  San  this  land-token,"  securing  [the  land]  to  the  Clan  of  San  in  good  faith,  else 


let  ns  suffer 

t     '3 

L"^ 

=] 

*  m 

5P        5) 

<?f 

t  ^4  t  >i  t. 

^  ni  k  ""i  -/'X 

'O  ^  ^§.  j^  ^^ 

^  \i7  n  A-  ;|^ 


T 


^ 

^ 


-?9^ 


;ka 


T 


Iff  +  J^ 


*' fe  is  obscure,  Juan  Yiian  makes  it  ^  which  seems  far-fetched. 

♦'  A  properly  formed  symbol,  but  not  in  Kanghsi. 

''This  seems  to  be  a  reversed  horary  couplet  like  several  found  in  the  "tortoise-shell  "  inscriptions  (see  infra). 
The  sign  -f"  may  be  either  ^^  kia  or  j(^  tmi  "at."     If  an  horary  sign,  the  two  (eh 'en  kia)  may  mean  "forenoon." 

™  "  I-mao  "  (L   ^0  refers  to  the  day  of  the  month,  and  not  to  the  year  as  in  the  cycle  system  (adopted  later). 

5' "Select."  Kanghsi  quotes  early  use  of  W  )mian  as  substitute  for  j^  hgUan  "select."  ^^  Hi  "troops," 
"bannermen." 

*^®  ^  i  takt  to  be  "land-token,"  referring  to  ths  tripod  inscribed  with  this  indenture,  and  conferred  as  a 
"  token  "  of  title  to  the  domain. 


28 


MEMOIRS   OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


a  thonsand  penalties  a  thousand  fold,""  .  .  .  Honorable  Elders  and  Select  Bannermen  in  turn  make  oath  to 
(or)  by  Hsi  Kung,  Hsiang  Wu  Fu  saying  :  "  We  insure  to  the  Clan  of  San  possession  of  the  lands  irrigated  (?)  ^*  and 
walled,  else  let  us  suffer  a  thonsand  penalties  a  thousand  [fold]."  ^  Hsi  Kuug  and  Hsiang  Wu-fn  upon  thus  taking 
oath  affix ''  the  seal.^ 


\1     w 


t  ^ 


A<i 


^ 


X 


^  15 


ti  t 


^ 


54 


f 


"^  f  ti 


(?) 


^i7    ^    f 


s'The  sign  'ff  (ch'uen)  "delivered"  with  ^,  mej^ns  "a  thonsand  times  inflicted,"  i.  e.,  "a  thousand  fold."  In 
the  second  oath  this  sign  has  been  accidentally  omitted  either  by  the  original  engraver  or  copyist. 

"The  sign  fjlW  is  unquestionably  j^  and  is  composed  of  "water"  and  "connect."  It  is  not  in  Kanghsi,  but 
might  mean  "  water-system  "  or  "  irrigate. "  ^^  is  contracted  form  of  }|4  te'inny  "  wall."  The  two  expressions  each 
containing  \±)  (t'ien)  "field  "  may  be  names  of  localities. 

5':^  (hsiang)  "elephant"  >  "  ivory  "  >  "  carve  ">  "delineate."     Here  it  probably  means  "affix." 

°^)§  (t'u)  "seal,"  "diagram."  No  seal  is  shown  in  this  copy  of  the  edict.  Possibly  a  "map"  of  the  domain 
accompanied  the  edict. 


CHALFANT:    EARLY  CHINESE   WRITING 


29 


Tlie  Great  King,  with  Ton,  ■*'  in  the  New  Palace,  East  Audience  Hall.  . 
the  Minister  of  Agriculture  between/' 


on  the  left  ^*  the  Royal  Secretary,  with 


Jh    : 

^ 

i"i 

X 

|i   ' 

1 

(?) 

-  57 

a 

t 

,    U 

^ 

:    t 

V7 

t 

IS 

''    ^ 

5  ^ 


IQ 


IQ 


g 


{    * 


"  Probably  the  go-between,  as  yet  in  China  in  all  such  transactions.  This  name  appears  on  page  25  as  one  of  the 
retainers  of  San. 

*' Tradition  makes  the  rifflii  hand  the  ancient  seat  of  honor,  hence  properly  that  of  the  Ki7ig.  A  trace  of  this  usage 
is  in  the  Chinese  army,  where  the  right-wing  (;^  '^)  takes  the  precedence.  Modern  custom  makes  the  lefl  the  seat  of 
honor. 

*'I  make  the  last  symbol  in  the  edict  as  above  shown,  "  Minister  of  Agriculture."  Old  form  of  W  should  be 
%['  which  closely  resembles  ^f*.  Modern  form  is  ^  (nung)  "farmer."  Kanglisi  says  :  "  Also  title  of  officer  over 
agriculture  "  ^>?.DJ^"g'^j.  Juan  Yuan  makes  it  Z|^  without  orthographic  evidence.  In  either  case  the  expression  is 
not  grammatical. 


30 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


IV.    ANCIENT  INSCRIPTIONS  UPON  BONE  AND  TORTOISE  SHELL. 

A  remarkable  find  of  antiquities  occurred  in  1899  near  Wei  Hui  Fu  (Honan  Prov- 
ince) upon  the  site  of  the  ancient  city  Chao  Kuo  ('h'eng  (■^>]  ^^tjii,)-  There  were 
reported  to  have  been  exhumed  three  thousand  fragments.  The  vendors  went  first  to 
Peking,  but  finding  that  city  disturbed  by  the  approaching  Boxer  Uprising,  they 
brought  their  curios  to  the  city  of  Weihsien  (Shantung)  and  left  a  portion  of  the  find  in 


Fig.  4. 


FiQ.  5. 


Fig.  6. 


Fig.  7. 


Fig.  8. 


Fig.  9. 


/ma 


Y 


K^ 


V 


* 


Figs.  4-9.  Inscribed  bone  arrow-heads  foand  near  Wei  Hui  Fu  (Honan  Province).  Figs.  4-6  are  in  the  Museum 
of  the  Koyal  Asiatic  Society  at  Shanghai,  and  Figs.  7-9  are  in  the  Bergen  collection  (Shantung,  China).  (Slightly  re- 
duced in  size.)     The  style  of  writing  is  very  archaic,  most  of  the  symbols  being  as  yet  undeciphered. 

the  hands  of  a  local  merchant.  This  Chinese  gentleman,  being  a  friend  of  the  writer, 
made  known  the  presence  of  these  unique  curiosities,  and  loaned  them  to  him  for 
inspection.  The  balance  of  the  find  had  been  taken  to  Shanghai  (or  elsewhere)  and 
sold  to  a  mandarin  (Tao-tai)  Liu  T'ie-Yiin  (j|ij  ^^  -g*).  This  Chinese  scholar  pub- 
lished a  book  in  his  own  language,  illustrated  with  eight  hundred  phototypes  taken 


CHALFANT:    EAKLY  CHINESE   WRITING 


from  ink-rubbings  of  the  specimens  in  his  possession.  Meanwhile  some  four  hun- 
dred fragments  were  purchased  by  the  writer  for  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society,  Shanghai.     A  year  later  (1904-5)  the  remaining  eighteen  hundred  frag- 


FlG.  10. 


Fro.  11. 


Fig.  10  is  a  fine  specimen  of  ancient  inscribed  tortoise-shell,  most  of  the  symbols  of  whicli  are  intelligible,  but  the 
translation  difficult  owing  to  the  incompleteness  of  the  inscription.     (Actual  size.) 

Fig.  11.  In.scribed  bone  fragment.  The  upper  right  two  lines  read  :  ^£  ]__  ^^T  fJi  i't\  £,  I^.  (Technical  lan- 
guage of  divination  containing  date  of  inquiry.) 

Originals  of  Figs.  10-11  in  the  Conling-Chalfant  Colleoticvi,  Shantung,  China.     (Actual  size. ) 

ments  were  located,  and,  after  some  difficulty,  were  procured  and  are  now  preserved 
as  private  collections.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  finders  did  not  undertake  to  match 
the  fragments  before  disposing  of  them,  for  it  is  an  almost  impossible  task  to  do  this 
now,  on  account  of  the  dispersal  of  the  pieces. 

While  it  is  a  tradition  among  the  C-hinese  that  tortoises  and  sacrificial  bones  were 
once  used  in  divination,  yet,  according  to  Liu  T'ie-Yiin,  no  one  prior  to  himself  had 
published  any  account  of  the  discovery  of  such  objects.  He  further  records  his 
opinion  that  the  style  of  writing  is  old^r  than  that  of  any  extant  inscription. 


32 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


It  is  possible  that  this  archaic  style  of  writing  survived  among  soothsayers  long 
after  it  ceased  to  be  in  current  use.     Whatever  be  the  date  of  the  inscriptions,  tliey 


Fio.   12. 


FfG.   13. 


Fig.  12.  Inscribed  tortoise-shell  (almost  complete).  The  part  missing  is  indicated  by  dotted  lines.  This  was 
pieced  together  from  several  fragments.  The  foar sentences  are  alike  in  tenor.  Upper  right  reails:  i'^  N/S<i'»1''ttlf  —  • 
Date  (£.  ■^)  and  enqniry  as  to  extent  of  progeny.  The  two  left-aide  sentenees  contain  ^  "  not,"  and  +  "Incky." 
(Actual  size.) 

Fig.  13.     Inscribed  tortoise-shell  fragment.     (Actual  size.) 

(Originals  of  Figs.  12-13  in  the  Couling-Chalfant  collection.) 

are  undoubtedly  written  in  a  very  primitive  form  of  symbols,  many  of  which  are 
actual  pictographs.     Only  a  few  illustrations  are  here  given  to  show  the  general 


CHALFANT:   EAKLY   CHINESE   WRITING 


38 


style  of  the  writing  used.  More  than  six  hundred  signs  have  been  noted,  the  most 
of  which  are  (as  yet)  undeciphered.  Some  of  the  most  striking  pictographs  are  the 
following : 

^  (.!|  "horse");  ^  (?);  |  (dragon?);  <^  (?);  ^  ("man"?  or  ^ 
"heaven"?);  ^  and  fs'  (stag?);  "^  and -t^  (bird?);  ^  (scorpion?);  I'  (rat?) 
or  (tiger?);    '^,    ^^,    =k^,    ^^    ;^  (symbols  relating  to  plant-Hfe) ;  ^     (?)  ; 


(Obv.) 


(  Rev. ) 


Fig.  14. 


(Text  in  the  Modern  Character.) 


'<  f«g  |n  j^ 


^^ 


9P 


^^^Ay. 


X 


^^ 


iC 


"1  ^ 


/i^ 


il^' 


I?) 


s 

1 
\ 

\ 

'\    I?) 

1 
\ 


Fig.  14.  Inscribed  bone,  with  lower  end  missing.  The  obverse  has  three  separate  sentences  differing  only  in  the 
dates.  Tlie  rendering  is  :  "  [Date]  divination.  I  ask  the  Serpent-father  to  enquire."  It  appears  that  at  least  four 
enquiries  are  recorded,  inasmuch  as  the  sign  ^  at  the  bottom  begins  what  was  probably  the  same  formula  with  a  new 
date.  Liu  T'ie  Yiin  interprets  "Serpent-father"  as  a  mystic  title  of  the  soothsayer.  The  reverse  records  a  date 
(•i    ^.)  and  undeciphered  signs.     Tliis  fragment  shows  discoloration  from  fire.     (Actual  size. ) 

(Original  in  R.  A.  Soo.  Museum,  Shanghai.) 


(^^?  "capital city"); ^   (.^  "chariot");  ^  (halberd);  <^  (bow);  _^(bal- 
);  g  (i^  wine-jar);  't^  (^  (?)  reverence);  <lj  {d\  "hill");  gg("field"); 
^  (i|"horn");  )J(g"moon");  g  (jj]  "park  "). 


ances 


*A  common  old  form  inverted. 


34 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  CARNEGIE   MUSEUM 


Fia.  15. 


Fig.  16. 


Fig.  17. 


Figs.  15-17.     Inscribed  tortoise-shell  fragments.     .( Actual  size, 


That  these  are  pictures,  even  the  most  skeptical  observer  will  admit.  Their  pre- 
cise significance  is  hard  to  determine.  Some  of  these  pictographs  occur  more  than 
once,  but  often  without  sufficient  context  to  warrant  a  conclusion  as  to  meaning. 
I  suspect  that  some  signs  like  ^  kiie,  \J}  t'ien,  ^  ki,  n>l>  hsin,  jc^  nii,  'J  shih,  ^  ching, 
have  astrologic  significance,  being  names  of  stars  and  constellations. 

Enquiries  for  divination  seem  to  have  been  made  concerning  parents,  sons, 
daughters,  animals,  crops,  and -utensils.  One  inscription  seems  to  read  fjj  ±  g 
"Ask  selection  of  Prime  Minister."  Should  this  prove  correct  it  suggests  consulta- 
tion of  the  oracle  by  royalty.     A  Chinese  scholar  mentions  a  tradition  that  the 


Fig.  18. 


Fig.  19. 


Fig.  20. 


^^i^*"*''^ 


Figs.  18-20.     Fragments  with  certain  striking  symbols,  e.  g.,  ^  (a  curious  coincidence  in  form  with  our  modern 
dollar-sign).     Here  it  is  ^  (fu)  "  not."     Occurs  also  as  $,#,$,     (Actual  size.) 

(The  original?  ot  Figs.  15-18  ^re  m  tUe  Conling-Chalfant  collection.     Figs.  19  and  20  are  in  the  Bergen  collection. 


CHALFANT:   EARLY  CHINESE  WRITING  35 

oracle  of  Wen  Wang  (circa  1200  B.  C.)  was  at  Chao  Kuo  Ch'eng,  where  the  bones 
were  discovered.  There  is  no  adequate  proof,  however,  that  these  inscriptions 
belong  to  so  early  a  date. 

The  cycle-signs  (the  so-called  Ten  Stems  [f  f]  and  Twelve  Branches  [f— ^  com- 
bined in  pairs)  occur  frequently,  but  as  the  combinations  exceed  in  number  the 
sixty  pairs  of  signs  allotted  to  the  cycle,  I  infer  that  they  do  not  conform  to  the  use 
of  these  signs  as  designating  years,  and  are  intended  to  signify  the  days  of  the  sea- 
son, or  of  some  period  less  than  a  year."^  In  several  cases  these  pairs  of  characters 
occur  in  reversed  order,  as  yp  ^  (Shen  Kuei)  for  -^  ip,  and,  more  frequently  singly, 
as  T,  \^,  ^,  £•  . 

At  present  but  little  can  be  said  about  this  unique  group  of  fragmentary  inscrip- 
tions, the  deciphei'ing  of  which  will  necessitate  a  careful  study  of  the  traditional 
methods  and  vocabulary  of  astrology  and  soothsaying  as  practiced  in  China.  While 
the  Chinese  have  many  works  written  upon  these  subjects,  still  it  requires  special 
training  in  the  technical  terminology  of  divination  to  rightly  understand  them. 

"  See  appended  list  of  these  signs  ( Plate  L. ).  ^ 


Memoirs  Carnegie  Museum,  Vol.  IV. 


Plate  L. 


rt>     Regular  old  forms 

ore? 

C 

^ 

^ 

f| 

^t* 

/^ 

& 

4n 

^ 

63 

f 

1 

^ 

P5 

Tsi 

Ch'ou 

Yin 

Mao 

Ch'en 

SI 

Wu 

Wei 

Shen 

Yu 

Hsu 

Hai 

3" 

^F 

^ 

2 

/  > 

■ip 

^ 

e. 

if 

* 

P 

1^ 

A 

CO 

-}-          Kia 

+ 

+ 

•+ 

■t 

1 —    - 

L 

A 

f^ 

8 

u 

¥ 

\       ' 

*S 

i 

<, 

? 

^ 

^ 

>% 

;f 

j5^ 

<!(> 

;(c 

? 

J 

^          Ping 

n 

n 

'n 

n 

n 

n 

T 

it 

f^ 

^ 

^ 

^^ 

i 

O          Ting 

*a 

a 

a 

O 

•a 

p 

Q 

o 

A 

^ 

P 

^l' 

M 

^ 

W 
^ 

^ 

nc     ^'^- 

hF 

>f 

•1 

>f 

11 

i 

£. 

1^ 

PI 

5 

A^ 

t^.% 

f 

E            Ki 

*E 

5  2 

e 

E 

E 

5 

M 

^ 

5,;a 

^^ 

r 

il( 

f 

r 

f^        Keng 

* 

#t 

*^ 

* 

* 

J~ 

t 

^ 

^ 

^,rt 

S           Hsin 

T 

f 

f 

f 

f 

f 

f 

i 

^ 

i& 

# 

$ 

;k 

? 

? 

"i         *^*^" 

I 

•i 

I 

I 

^< 

P( 

^^ 

^,^ 

1^ 

?Sc         Kug! 

•^ 

X 

X 

X 

X 

^ 

?^ 

a 

^l> 

■xc 

V 

Comparison  of  the  Date-marks  found  upon  the  Tortoise-sliells  with  tlie  Year-signs  of  the  t'ycle.     Tlie  year-signs  are  successive  comhinations  of  the 
ten  symhols  on  the  left  with  the  twelve  at  the  top  by  a  method  which  yields  sixty  pairs  of  signs  to  designate  each  year  of  the  cycle. 
*  Couplets  not  belonging  to  the  cycle-series.     Alternate  fortns  are  placed  side  by  side. 


0 


■■'•  -ill 


-n^ 


Iff 


Ti 


^^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
tThi^ooki^DUEonthe  last  date  stamped  below. 


iT  21  1947 

OCT  21   1947 


1  Nov'49 


Cr 


2iAug3lty 


mmin         [JUN171955.1U 
HIH181953  tW 
,  ^  REC'D  LD 

recWd 


-.^h( 


,8Jan'52J'<  ^%4H'u 


28Jan'53S5 


^'55441/ 


FFR3  11953  LU        3Sep54WM 

AUG  2  3  1954  LO 

LD21-100m-12,'46(A2012sl6)4l2cr 


MAY  7    1959 


n:. 


J^^ 


■^ . 


if' 


.^'' 


w 


•!?»/»' 

*j"^ 


s 


.^^^ 


I  ^'--N^ 


-^♦i 


■■■<.-— *-..^ 


'-■^ 


■,',-itri '?>•  Ill- 1/^ 


•  I .  -'.■',  ,1. 


':'v\V, 


.^;^!'v^' 


.■\,<'-H:'--^'- 


mm  ■' 

vj^ 

:- 

,-■  >,\;'>-'4k'--  , 

-mM-'- :  ■ 

'  ■ 

•J  'V''''' 


:■   :'■'■, 


i-.^v'-Mv  ,.*;. 


..'•'■■^ijr 


.^:^.V:;;r::'.;v;,;;;vV.;'.v:Y^!^Cfc^^ 


